Chelsea’s first transfer window under their new ownership is widely perceived as one with many mistakes, spending (£250m) on eight permanent transfers, and one loan deal.
The biggest signing of that 2022/23 summer window, was Wesley Fofana, joining the Blues from Leicester City, for a fee of around £75m. The Frenchman has struggled with injuries since joining Chelsea back in 2022, only making 28 appearances for the club so far, scoring two goals, and totalling 2.444 minutes played.
Player
Fee (£)
Wesley Fofana
£67.2m
Marc Cucurella
£54.6m
Raheem Sterling
£47m
Kalidou Koulibaly
£35m
Carney Chukwuemeka
£15m
Cesare Casadei
£12.4m
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
£10m
Gabriel Slonina
£7.6m
Another player still at the club from this window, who is beginning to thrive, is Marc Cucurella, who has settled in at the club now, after a rocky first few seasons. The 26-year-old has made 69 appearances for the Blues now, scoring one goal, providing four assists, and totalling 5,198 minutes played.
Perhaps the worst of these moves was the signing of Raheem Sterling, who joined from Manchester City with high expectations for £47.5m.
Chelsea's costly 2022 signing
Sterling joined Chelsea with a wealth of top-flight experience behind him, with Thomas Tuchel keen to bring the England international to the club back in 2022. Having scored 131 goals for Manchester City in his 339 appearances, Chelsea fans were excited by the prospect of a goalscoring winger joining their ranks.
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However, his time at Chelsea was far from successful, scoring just 19 times, making 81 appearances, and providing 12 assists in his 5.326 minutes. Many of his performances came under scrutiny, as the 29-year-old was one of the only experienced members of the squad.
Another reason his performances were under the microscope, was the enormous £325k-per-week wages he was on, more than anyone in the squad, earning around £16.9m per year. His levels did not represent that outlay, especially when you consider last season, where Cole Palmer, who earned just £80k-per-week, scored 25 goals and provided 15 assists.
Another forward who provided far more than Sterling last season, was Nicolas Jackson, who was on £65k-per-week, and managed to score 17 goals in 44 appearances, also providing six assists in his 3,534 minutes played.
Jackson & Palmer's current form
Both Jackson and Palmer were rewarded with pay rises at the start of this term, with Jackson now earning £100k-per-week, and Palmer now earning £130k-per-week. Even with these pay increases, their combined wages (£230k-per-week) are still nearly £100k less than what Sterling was raking in each week, for performances nowhere near the levels of Jackson and Palmer.
This campaign has been no different, with both Jackson and Palmer starting in red-hot form. The 23-year-old Senegalese forward has already scored six goals, and provided three assists in his ten appearances this season, whilst the English superstar has scored seven times, and provided five assists in his 11 outings.
The duo is starting to form an excellent relationship, which has been further enhanced by the decision from Enzo Maresca to move Palmer permanently central, playing as the number ten, often much closer to Jackson, in order for the pair to link up.
Jackson’s willingness to run in behind, run the channels, and play quick combinations brings the best out of Palmer, allowing him to make those killer passes in behind, and get into more shooting positions himself, allowing both players to increase their output for both goals and assists.
Sterling vs Jackson vs Palmer comparison
Over his two seasons at Chelsea, Sterling cost the club around £81m, with his £47.5m transfer fee plus the £16.9m per year of wages. When you compare this to the combined outlay of Palmer (£40m fee plus £4.1m yearly wage for the 2023/24 season) and Jackson (£32m fee plus £3.3m yearly wage for the 2023/24 season), the performances of Sterling were unacceptable.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Sterling
Jackson
Palmer
Goals
0.33
0.43
0.65
Assists
0.26
0.15
0.36
xG
0.30
0.60
0.63
xAG
0.20
0.14
0.38
Progressive Carries
5.45
2.25
4.02
Progressive Passes
3.55
2.15
6.77
Shots Total
2.29
2.58
3.50
Shots on Target
0.88
1.18
1.44
Key Passes
1.36
1.22
2.47
Shot-Creating Actions
3.86
3.05
5.57
Sterling only outranked Jackson and Palmer in one metric, providing the most progressive carries per 90 of the trio. However, this is down to the position of Sterling, playing as a left-winger, whilst Palmer played centrally, and as a right-winger (who still drifted central), and Jackson played as the striker, with fewer chances to progress play.
We have already touched on the higher output levels of both Palmer and Jackson, but the pair also provided more shots per 90, and more shots on target per 90. Considering Jackson is a striker too, he is extremely close to Sterling in metrics such as key passes and shot-creating actions, where wingers are often expected to provide more than the striker in most systems.
Sterling has now been sent on loan to Arsenal from Chelsea, as the Blues are prioritising minutes for other wingers, such as new signings, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto, as well as Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk, who were already at the club.
The 29-year-old has scored once and assisted once for the Gunners in his eight appearances, only managing 333 minutes so far, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard all being preferred in wide areas by Mikel Arteta.
Chelsea will have Sterling returning in the summer of 2025, and will have to deal with him then, with those high wages likely to play a factor in how easily they can find willing suitors for the ex-England international.
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