Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought Chelsea in 2022 after a much-publicised process. The sense then was that the Blues would need to brace themselves for a very different era compared to under Roman Abramovich.
Under Abramovich, Chelsea had spent unbelievable amounts of money to put themselves at football’s top table. There was no expectation that anything like that could follow without his wealth.
And yet, if anything, things have been even crazier. Chelsea have broken the English transfer record on multiple occasions, racking up record spending and completely changing their squad. And that’s despite Premier League finishes of 12th and 6th under Boehly.
So what exactly have they done? Football FanCast has detailed every Chelsea transfer since Todd Boehly’s consortium set foot in west London.
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2 ByStephan GeorgiouAug 23, 2024 1 Denis Zakaria – £2.5m (loan)
Zakaria is Chelsea’s cheapest signing to date – though, he wasn’t a permanent one. The Blues brought him in on a season-long loan from Juventus but he never really became a regular.
The Athletic claims it cost them around £2.5m upfront and while there was an option to buy, Chelsea never looked like using it.
2 Gabriel Slonina – £8m
Chelsea signed teenage goalkeeper Slonina for £8m, per The Athletic, and immediately loaned him back to the MLS side. He did finally join up with the Blues in January but is yet to play a senior game for them. He’ll now spend this season on loan with Belgian club Eupen. Still only 19, there’s a long way to go with Slonina.
3 Joao Felix – £8.8m (loan)
The second, and final, loan deal on this list. Chelsea moved to sign Felix last January, paying £8.8m (The Guardian) to have him for only five months.
It was a surprising deal on the face of it but then, it wasn’t long ago that the Portuguese playmaker was considered one of the best young players on the planet. He was decent enough at Chelsea, but not to a point where they’d fight to keep him permanently.
4 David Datro Fofana – £10m
Fofana arrived at a time when Chelsea desperately needed goals. He barely featured after joining, however, starting only one Premier League match and playing a total of 68 minutes in the top flight.
The Blues just didn’t seem to rate him after the £10m transfer (BBC). He’s now off on loan in Germany with Union Berlin where he’ll hope to get back on track.
5 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £10m
Aubameyang arrived from Barcelona to be the striker who scored the goals for Chelsea last season. However, it did not work out that way.
The former Arsenal star made only 15 Premier League appearances and scored just once – so no one was shocked when he left on a free this summer.
It was a strange deal to sign him, too, with Chelsea paying £10m plus full-back Marcos Alonso, says Sky Sports. Just one that didn’t work at all.
6 Angelo – £12.95m
Angelo has had some hype around him for a while – and certain numbers show why. He’s the youngest player in the history of Brazil’s top flight, having debuted at 15, while he boasts well over 100 senior appearances at only 18.
Chelsea have an exciting one here, and it’s no wonder they paid £12.95m to get him (The Athletic).
7 Djordje Petrovic – £14m
With Edouard Mendy in Saudi Arabia and Kepa Arrizabalaga in Madrid, Chelsea have turned to twice-capped Serbian international Djordje Petrovic to come in and challenge Robert Sanchez for the number one spot at Stamford Bridge.
The 23 year old has been impressing in the USA for MLS side New England Revolution for a couple of years, making 43 appearances for The Revs in the league.
It was obviously enough to impress the higher-ups at Chelsea as the club spent £14m to secure his signature, tying him down to a seven year deal (BBC Sport).
8 Deivid Washington – £17m
At just 18 years old, Deivid Washington joins the ever-growing list of exciting young Brazilians who have opted to join Chelsea this summer as they make their way to Europe to further their footballing careers.
That said, Washington isn’t just here to make up the numbers, as despite making just nine Serie A appearances for Santos, Chelsea had seen enough to convince them that a £17m (Sky Sports News) offer would be money well spent on the youngster.
With just hours left of the transfer window, it would appear that the former Santos youngster will be staying in West London this season, potentially allowing him to show the league just what he can do.
9 Andrey Santos – £18m
Santos is very highly rated in Brazil, having shone for Vasco as a teenager. It was enough that Chelsea paid £18m (BBC) to sign him in January – despite the fact he couldn’t get a work permit.
Instead, the midfielder went back on loan to Vasco in March until rejoining the Blues this summer. Hopefully, we’ll see what all the fuss is about soon.
10 Diego Moreira – Free
As of the end of the 2024/25 season, Diego Moreira has only made one senior Chelsea appearance, coming early in Mauricio Pochettino’s reign during an EFL Cup win over AFC Wimbledon in August 2023.
Since then, the Belgium-born Portugal U21 international has been on loan at Lyon and Strasbourg, being a regular starter in Liam Rosenior’s impressive outfit, who may yet find themselves in a Champions League qualification place.
As for Moreira’s Chelsea future, it remains to be seen whether his progress in the French top flight will be enough for Enzo Maresca to want him hanging around the first team.