Grading Chelsea's 2016 summer transfer window buys
After a terrible 2015/16 season, Chelsea were expected to sell some of their discontented superstars and rebuild during the transfer window. However, Antonio Conte decided to retain the core of Chelsea’s squad and compliment them with fresh blood, after extensive deliberation.
The Italian wanted to add five players to rejuvenate his team, however, the inflated transfer market contrived to frustrate him time and again. This meant that he missed out on the majority of his targets and had to settle for alternatives. Despite being quite low on the list of preferences, these newcomers have stepped up and fulfilled their responsibilities for the most part.
Here is our assessment of Chelsea’s buys this season.
#1 N’Golo Kante – £32 Million
Kante was the only one of Chelsea’s first choice targets that they managed to sign. His performances for Leicester City and France made him one of Europe’s most desireable midfielders, but fortunately for Chelsea, they managed to snag the dynamic Frenchman for £32 Million. This fee can only be described as a bargain in the current market.
Kante has been tremendous for the Blues when he’s been paired with Nemanja Matic. This partnership has acted as a defensive shield and as a trigger for counter attacks, making them the foundation that Chelsea have used to control games.
Standout Performance
Kante’s best performance for Chelsea came in the 4-0 win against Manchester United. The Blues thrashed the Red Devils despite the fact that United dominated possession. This was partly because Kante won back possession at will and set up the runs of Hazard and Pedro throughout the game.
He also put his seal on this victory by scoring with a sublime piece of skill.
Grade: A