As Friday night’s west London derby looms, Chelsea have completely shuffled their squad during January’s transfer window while Fulham – looking to do the double over their free-spending neighbours – remain largely unaltered.
Stamford Bridge will be at the centre of attention at 8pm as a string of Chelsea signings parade on the pitch following a remarkable shopping spree.
Time will tell whether it’s a desperate roll of the dice, or a concerted and coordinated effort to reinvigorate a stale squad.
The Blues set a new British transfer record, paying Benfica £106million for Argentinian World Cup winner Fernandez... a 22-year-old midfielder who was valued at just £10m just five months ago.
True, he was declared the young player of the tournament in Qatar. But £106m?
Meanwhile the Whites have remained calm during the January sales, merely making the loan signing of experienced central defender Shane Duffy permanent.
The 31-year-old has already settled in at Craven Cottage after joining from Brighton, so news that he is now a fully fledged Fulham player is hardly earth-shattering.
However, Chelsea’s dramatic wallet-waving exercise puts the onus on the home side to instantly impress.
Marco Silva is quietly confident of achieving the double over the Blues having already guided the Whites up to 7th place in the table with a string of good performances, including January’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
But the Blues would leapfrog Fulham into 6th spot if they can manage a win.
Graham Potter’s task is deciding whether to allow his new arrivals time to bed in and gel as a team, or whether to throw his new names into the mix immediately.
He also has signed Noni Madueke, the £89m Mykhailo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and Malo Gusto on permanent deals, not to mention loanee Joao Felix who was red-carded on his debut for Chelsea in the Craven Cottage fixture on 12 January.
It’s a powerful statement of intent from new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s American consortium, coming on top of the £4.25billion paid last May to buy the west London club.
Fans are sceptical that so much sudden change can reap quick rewards. Assembling a team of all-stars might look good on paper, but it’s no guarantee of success.
How will the existing dressing room occupants take to the new arrivals, and will young players such as Lewis Hall feel they no longer have a hope of breaking into the glitzy first team? Jorginho’s switch to Arsenal for a modest £12m now feels like an insignificant footnote!
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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