There were many Chelsea fans who were not happy with the club’s transfer business over the summer, however should be thankful Todd Boehly didn’t pull the trigger on one signing they were strongly linked with.
Blues supporters showed their discontent on deadline day at the club’s lack of late business, despite it becoming clear very early on that they were going to be struggling with injuries in the early months of the season.
Chelsea’s final addition of the transfer window was Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton, with him coming in as emergency cover for Cole Palmer.
The additon of the Argentine put an end to their interest in Xavi Simons, and he would go on instead to join arch-rivals Tottenham in what looked a great coup for Thomas Frank’s side.
Chelsea dodged a bullet in not signing Xavi Simons
However, after eight appearances in all competitions for Spurs, the Dutchman is yet to find the net, registering just one assist too.
Spurs supporters began to turn on the £51m signing after he was part of the starting side who failed to impress in their 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Despite their very strong opening to the season, Chelsea are now above their London rivals in the table, and are looking in far better shape than their London rivals to progress up the table.
It has been notable that Simons has been really struggling to make any impact when starting on the left of attack, a position which he may have seen his long-term future in if he’d moved to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea couldn’t sign Simons due to UEFA punishment
While currently injured, Palmer looks a shoo-in to play in the number 10 role, and the former RB Leipzig man would have been joining the Blues before the signing of Alejandro Garnacho was confirmed.
It was believed that the club weren’t going to be able to add Garnacho and Simons to their squad, after they were sanctioned by UEFA and had to sell big in order to continue spending over the summer.
Todd Boehly and co self-reported their financial misdemeanours when they took over the running of the club, and this likely played in their favour when it came to the punishment they suffered.
Enzo Maresca is already being tasked with getting the best out of Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Estevao as new additions to the attack, and will be thankful that Simons was not added to that list.
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