Reports: Chelsea set to spend over £200 million to sign 5 players

What’s the story?

Chelsea are set to go on a last-minute spending spree according to Express. The Blues' are set to splash out over £200 million in the next 10 days and sign 5 Premier League stars according to the report.

The players Antonio Conte wants signed are Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares, Danny Drinkwater and Virgil Van Dijk. The Chelsea board are also set to back him and try and sign the players.

In case you didn’t know...

The number of players in Chelsea's squad has been diminishing day-by-day. Antonio Conte has just 17 first team players right now as the rest have been sold or loaned out.

From last season's main squad, John Terry, Asmir Begovic, Chalobah, Nemanja Matic and Nathan Ake have been sold. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been loaned out to Crystal Palace while Diego Costa has been asked to leave.

Chelsea have also loaned out 25 players already this summer. And the number are set to increase with Lewis Baker and a few other academy players lined up.

The heart of the matter

Chelsea are targeting a move for Southampton's defensive trio Van Dijk, Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares. They are bound to cost the Premier League champions at least £150 million in total.

The latest bid for Danny Drinkwater is £25 million + add-ons which will rise to £30 million. Leicester City were holding out for £40 million but are reportedly set to accept this bid.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been offered a new contract at Arsenal but still the Blues are confident of landing him. The Gunners are demanding £35 million for him - something Chelsea are willing to match.

What’s next?

Chelsea have 10 days to agree the deals and sign the players. They face Everton in the weekend and will welcome back Eden Hazard to the squad.

Author’s Take

Chelsea have a very thin squad right now and adding these 5 players will bolster the team in every aspect. Not all 5 players will make it to the first team straight away but they could play a huge part this season with The Blues' taking part in 4 competitions.

Van Dijk's signing is something I'm worried about. If Cahill is benched and he starts with David Luiz and Christensen in the back 3, then it's all fine. But if his signing means the benching of Christensen, that I'm not up for it.

Soares and Bertrand can be excellent adding as the wingbacks as Chelsea only have Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso now. Soares might actually replace Moses in the starting XI.

Drinkwater can be a brilliant squad player and a good back up for Bakayoko. But again, paying £25 million for a back while whilst sent Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Lewis Baker on loan is questionable.

Oxlade-Chamberlain can be the season-defining signing for Chelsea. He's versatile and can play as a central midfielder and a wingback.