Chelsea pays the price for wasteful transfers.

Chelsea once believed that simply continuing to spend money would solve their attacking problems. But the reality of the 2025/26 season shows that a big wallet doesn't necessarily create a great team.

Four high-profile signings – Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, and Jamie Gittens – cost over £150 million, yet combined they have only scored 4 goals in the Premier League. For a club aiming for the Champions League like Chelsea, that's unacceptable.

Significantly, this wasn't a momentary lapse. It reflects a long-standing disorder in Chelsea's team building under the BlueCo era.

Chelsea spent £150 million without achieving commensurate results.

They buy young players, promising players, players with future resale value, but forget the most basic thing: the team needs players who can make an immediate difference before building long-term value.

Four gambling sessions at the same time

Garnacho was brought in from Manchester United for £40 million, with expectations of him becoming a new attacking threat on the left wing. But what Chelsea got in return was an inconsistent player, who had only scored one Premier League goal by the end of April. His speed is still there, his explosiveness still flashes, but his effectiveness is too low.

The £30 million spent on Delap was intended for the center forward position. Chelsea hoped his strength and attacking prowess would solve their goal drought. The result was just one goal in 25 games. A striker who fails to instill fear in the opposing defense renders any tactical system behind him meaningless.

Estevao (£30 million) is a future gem and has indeed made a certain impression, but Chelsea need the present. The Brazilian talent has had some promising moments in Europe, but injuries and lack of experience have prevented him from living up to the high expectations of the fans.

Gittens fared no better, despite costing Chelsea £50 million. He possessed speed and technical skill, but his contribution to the game was virtually nonexistent. Chelsea bought four attractive players, but failed to acquire a single game-changing player.

Garnacho was the most criticized signing.

The mistake stems from the strategy, not just the players.

Chelsea's biggest problem isn't Garnacho or Delap having a few bad games. The mistake lies in their recruitment philosophy. They bought too many players of the same type: young, promising, and needing time to develop. But a big club can't wait for the whole team to mature at the same time.

Brighton & Hove Albion, the team that defeated Chelsea on the morning of April 22nd, implemented a strategy of buying promising players to wait for stable development, while Chelsea tried to copy that model with the approach of a big club. This is paradoxical, because Brighton could patiently remain in 8th or 10th place, while Chelsea could not.

The immediate consequence was that Liam Rosenior's team fell behind in the race for the top 5, lost 5 consecutive matches, and lost the confidence of their own home fans.

When £150 million only yields 4 goals and leaves them trailing the top teams, anger is inevitable. Chelsea still have money and ambition, but their missteps are costing them dearly in the transfer market.

Source: https://znews.vn/chelsea-tra-gia-vi-chuyen-nhuong-hoang-phi-post1645651.html