The Blues were left frustrated by their failures to capture a number of desired stars, before the dramatic late purchases of David Luiz and Marcos Alonso.
Ultimately though, Antonio Conte ended up with none of the targets he had personally desired – making his achievements this season all the more impressive.
Interestingly for Blues fans however, the list of players they missed out on over the summer has been revealed.
While they can be nothing but overjoyed with the shrewd business they did complete over the transfer window, it’s a painful glimpse into what could have been.
The list in question was brought forward by New York Times journalist Rory Smith on BBC Radio 5 live. He reeled off the players that Conte had tried and failed to buy as means of showing how impressive the Italian has been this season.
For the 47-year-old, it must have been a bittersweet window, yet he has still worked wonders with the players the club was in fact able to purchase. Just look at Alonso and N’Golo Kante – a player Conte had never heard of before 2016.
The video and Smith reading out the list, can be seen below:
Therefore, the missed targets are: Radja Nainggolan, Kostas Manolas and Leonard Bonucci.
While all three names were regularly frequented over the course of the summer, this serves as confirmation of Conte’s interest. It also outlines how keen he was to explore Serie A players with which he became so familiar during his Juventus tenure.
Furthermore, they’re all mercurial players who could have had a lot to offer at Stamford Bridge. If the current table topping side was actually unfavoured, it’s astonishing to think where Chelsea could be had their approaches been more successful.
BENEFICIAL?
Given the Blues’ current form though, can there actually be any regrets about the summer?
Nainggolan may be an incredibly talented midfielder, but with Kante in such dominant form, it’s hard to see what more the Belgian could have brought to the table. Aside from the odd 30-yard screamer that is.
Similarly with the two centre-backs – Bonucci and Manolas – it’s difficult to imagine they would have performed better than Luiz. The Brazilian has been the rock in a Chelsea defence with nine clean sheets in 11 league games.
Therefore, it’s rather tempting to think about what could have been, yet it would be quite ridiculous for Chelsea to beat themselves up about it.
Whether you’ve got Nainggolan or Nathaniel Chalobah pulling the strings, if you’re seven points clear at the top then it’s all sunshine and rainbows.
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