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After a transfer ban prevented Chelsea from making any additions during the 2019-20 season, the Blues spent big in the summer of 2020 to strengthen their squad.
The club spent more than £200 million on seven players to close the gap on the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League.
While the players were signed by Frank Lampard, they could not prevent the Englishman from getting sacked in January after a string of poor performances.
Former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel was appointed by the club and the German did a brilliant job at the helm, guiding Chelsea to a fourth-placed finish in the league. He also took them to the FA Cup final, which they unfortunately lost. However, his biggest moment came in the Champions League when he took the Blues all the way to the trophy.
Chelsea have started the 2021-22 season under him in brilliant fashion. The Blues clinched the UEFA Super Cup in August while they are top of the Premier League during the October international break.
How have the 2020 summer signings fared so far for Chelsea?
Given that it's been more than a year since Chelsea's summer spending spree, not all of the seven signings have worked out exactly as expected for the Blues. While some have performed brilliantly, others have had a mixed career so far and have not made the same impact that fans would have hoped for.
Here we have decided to rank the seven summer signings based on their performances in the Chelsea shirt so far:
#7 Malang Sarr
The arrival of Malang Sarr on a free transfer was an exciting prospect for the Chelsea fans. Only 21 at the time, the defender had already made more than 100 senior appearances for OGC Nice and was considered one of the most talented young players.
With Chelsea having a number of options at centre-back, the Blues decided to send him on loan to Porto so he can continue his development.
Sarr, however, did not quite live up to the expectations in Portugal. The French centre-back failed to dislodge the club's first-choice options and managed to make only 19 appearances in all competitions for the side. Only nine of these appearances came as starts.
Sarr returned to the club this summer and was expected to go out on loan again. However, Chelsea failed to find a club for the youngster before the end of the transfer window.
Though initially not part of Thomas Tuchel's plans, Sarr did make an appearance for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa. He will however be expected to go out on loan again once the transfer window opens in January.
#6 Hakim Ziyech
A lot was expected from Hakim Ziyech after his £36 million move from Ajax last summer. The Moroccan has struggled with injuries at Chelsea so far while his performances have been largely inconsistent when given the opportunity.
After arriving at Chelsea, Ziyech didn't make his official debut for the club until October last season, due to a knee injury he picked up in pre-season. He looked brilliant early on with impressive performances against Burnley and Sheffield United. It looked like Ziyech would light up the Premier League with his excellent passing, crossing and playmaking abilities.
However, after suffering a hip injury in December, things have not been quite the same for the 28-year-old. He did play a few times under Thomas Tuchel and scored some crucial goals in the second half of the campaign. However, Ziyech has not been able to have a consistent run in the team.
After having a bright pre-season before the 2021-22 campaign, it looked like Ziyech would showcase his true abilities this season. However, the former Moroccan has been largely unimpressive with his performances so far.
Ziyech has made just 11 goal contributions (seven goals & four assists) in 45 appearances for the Blues. The winger needs to improve his performances pretty soon, or he may face an early exit from his Chelsea career.
#5 Kai Havertz
One of the Bundesliga's brightest young talents, there was a lot of excitement among Chelsea fans when Kai Havertz joined from Bayern Leverkusen for a then club record £72 million. The German had excelled at Leverkusen, scoring 46 goals and assisting 29 in just 150 appearances for the club.
However, Havertz has struggled to adapt to English football, often looking lightweight and lacking the confidence he was filled with in the Bundesliga.
He struggled in the first half of last season under Frank Lampard, albeit a COVID-19 infection was one of the main reasons that took toll on his performances. He did, however, show a steady improvement in the second half of last season under new manager Thomas Tuchel. His biggest moment came towards the end of last season when he scored the winner in the Champions League final for the Blues.
However, Havertz has struggled to show the same form this season that he showed towards the end of last campaign. Barring one excellent header against Liverpool, Havertz has been largely on the periphery of matches and hasn't taken the chances coming his way.
Havertz has so far managed to register 10 goals and 10 assists in 54 appearances for the Blues. Still only 22, Havertz has a lot of time on his side. However, considering the competition for places in the Chelsea squad, he will need to improve his performances pretty soon.
#4 Ben Chilwell
Ben Chilwell had a brilliant start to his Chelsea career upon arrival from Leicester City for £45 million. With Marcos Alonso falling out of favor with Frank Lampard, Chilwell was a regular starter and was one of Chelsea's best players in the first-half of the 2020-21 campaign. The left-back had raced to two goals and five assists in just 22 appearances under the manager.
However, the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January saw the Englishman reduced to a rotational role.
With the German manager switching to a back-three with wing backs, Alonso came back into the fold and became a regular starter under Tuchel. However, Chilwell did manage to earn his spot back in the latter stages of the season, even starting in the Champions League final for the Blues.
But the 24-year-old has had a difficult start to the 2021-22 campaign. After not making a single appearance for England at Euro 2020, Chilwell saw his starting place in the side taken again by Alonso. Chilwell had returned late to Chelsea due to his participation at the Euros and therefore Alonso grabbed the opportunity and performed well for the Blues.
As such, Chilwell has made just four appearances this season with only two of them coming as starts. He did however score against Southampton just before the international break and even scored his first England goal against Andorra last week.
So far, Chilwell's Chelsea career has been full of ups and downs. He has however shown that he is getting back to his best, which can only mean positive news for Chelsea considering they have two in-form left-backs in the squad.
#3 Timo Werner
Timo Werner was arguably the most exciting signing made by Chelsea last summer with the German having ripped up the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig in 2019-20. He scored 34 goals and assisted 12 in all competitions and his electric pace and instinctive finishing convinced Chelsea to shell out nearly £50 million for his services.
However, things have not gone according to plan for the forward. He has looked uncertain in possession, uneasy against a low block and has been unable to replicate his form at Leipzig. Werner missed several gilt-edged chances last season, adding to his further misery.
But while the forward has been woeful in front of goal, his overall performances have been impressive. His 12 goals and 10 assists across competitions, the most for any Chelsea player last season, were crucial in the Blues finishing in the top four and winning the Champions League.
With the arrival of Romelu Lukaku this summer, Werner has seen his game time being limited. However, the former seems to be getting back to his best having registered four goals and an assist in his last six games for club and country.
#2 Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva was one of the signings of the 2020-21 season after arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. To sign a player with such quality on a free transfer was exceptionally shrewd business by Chelsea. Despite being 35 years old at the time of his arrival, Silva adapted brilliantly to the intensity of the Premier League.
Chelsea's leaky defense improved massively thanks to the influence of the monumentally experienced Brazilian. Only Manchester City conceded fewer Premier League goals than Chelsea last season. Even though Silva wasn't present for every game, his impact in the dressing room and the training ground cannot be underestimated.
Now 37, many people expected Silva to be sparingly used this season. However, the centre-back already has seven appearances to his name and has produced exceptional performances away at Liverpool and Tottenham.
His contract expires this season but if Silva continues to maintain this level of performance, there's no reason not to keep him at Chelsea for another year.
#1 Edouard Mendy
Signing goalkeepers from Rennes has become a good omen for Chelsea in recent times. First came Petr Cech and now Edouard Mendy.
The Senegalese was brought in to help shore up Chelsea's defense after Kepa Arrizabalaga's worrying form at the start of last season. And the keeper has done exactly that.
Standing at 6'6", Mendy has been a giant in goal for the Blues. He used every inch of that frame to help Chelsea to the second-best defensive record in the league last season.
Mendy was not a high profile signing like Havertz, Werner or Ziyech. But he has been better than all three of them and has quietly gone about his business between the sticks for the Blues.
Incredibly, Mendy has kept 34 clean sheets in 53 matches for the Blues so far, and has conceded only 29 goals in the process. His performances in the Champions League last season earned him the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award.
From shot-stopping and immense calmness on the ball, Mendy has everything a modern day goalkeeper needs and has been an excellent addition for the Blues.
Poll : Do you feel Chelsea have benefited from their 2020 spending spree?
Yes
No
70 votes
