5 reasons behind Chelsea's poor display this season

#3 Inability to purchase marquee players

Antonio Conte has always asked for spending power

Football pundits hailed Conte for ushering in a new era in Premier League when he won the title with Chelsea in the 2016-17 season using the unusual 3-4-3 formation.

Conte was keen to bolster his options in all the three segments of the team - attack, midfield and defense. Chelsea purchased Alvaro Morata for a club record of £58 million from Real Madrid, and Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco for £40 million.

Arturo Vidal of Bayern Munich, Edin Dzeko of AS Roma and Alex Sandro of Juventus were sought after by Conte, but all the transfers collapsed. Players like them improve the team's quality, and not being able to land them has affected Chelsea a lot.

Instead, the club signed Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, Leicester's midfielder Danny Drinkwater and Roma's left-back Emerson Palmieri. None of them has been able to establish themselves so far, like other newcomers Davide Zappacosta and Ross Barkley.

Repeatedly, the manager has expressed his displeasure at the board for tying his hands while spending money on better players.