Maurizio Sarri anticipated a sinking ship at Chelsea after they were hit with a transfer ban and made the move to Juventus in an unexpected departure.
This left the Blues with an uncertain future and they had to settle down with a rookie Frank Lampard who took over, after just one professional-managerial season with Championship side Derby County.
The future didn’t appear to hold much for Chelsea, and more so with the departure of the talismanic Belgian Eden Hazard who jumped ship to Real Madrid in what he described as a dream move. With Frank Lampard at the helm amid a transfer ban, there were doubts on if Lampard and his boys would finish in the top 4.
The Englishman came in and put some reliance on youth players like Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, James Reece, Billy Gilmour, and the lads impressed more than expected. The Blues eventually finished in the top 4 even without any of Frank Lampard’s preferred acquisitions.
Well, fast forward to now and it seems the transfer ban only served to help Chelsea. The Blues have arguably been the most active team in the transfer window thus far having signed the likes of Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Xavier Mbuyamba, Malang Sarr, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, and Kai Havertz.
Reports also suggest that an agreement is very close with Rennes for goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to provide competition for first-choice goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Blues are the envy of the summer transfer window thus far.
The Blues appear to be strengthening massively after the transfer ban, having been inactive in previous windows before the ban was reduced.
They’ve spent over 200 million pounds and have strengthened significantly this summer by acquiring brilliant players on paper.
It’s now down to Frank Lampard to organize his side. The Englishman’s first season proved that he’s an attack-minded gaffer and this has reflected in the summer dealings with a good number of attacking talents acquired.
They’ve also looked to sort out defensive issues with some acquisitions and it remains to be seen if any expenditure will be done in the midfield. This may depend on some departure though according to reports, regardless, it remains to be seen.
The Blues have been linked with West Ham’s Declan Rice with a possible departure of N’Golo Kante being predicted. Regardless, these quality acquisitions wouldn’t have been done at this time if a transfer ban hadn’t forced the club to rely on some youth talents who were eventually up to the task in the 2019/20 Premier League season.
Some of the players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, James Reece, amongst others are already key figures under Frank Lampard and will be raring to go ahead of the upcoming 2020/21 season. Therefore, it’s not wrong to say that the transfer ban helped Chelsea significantly.
