Enzo Maresca must hit the ground running in his first season at Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
Imagine spending around £200million on players and still being in the market for a new striker.
There have been so many signings and departures at Chelsea that it wouldn’t be a surprise if a new set of revolving doors has been installed at Stamford Bridge. Pedro Neto is the latest addition to a bloated squad who currently have more than 40 players on the expensive payroll and Napoli marksman Victor Osimhen could take the stunning outlay past the £300m barrier by the end of the week.
To be fair he is one of the best strikers in the business, scoring 15 goals in Serie A last year despite his club’s struggles and 26 the previous season when they won the Scudetto.
Chelsea have hauled nearly £90m back into the kitty by selling Ian Maatsen to Aston Villa, Lewis Hall to Newcastle and Omari Hutchinson to Ipswich while Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech are off the payroll following free moves to Fluminense and Galatasaray respectively.
It’s not just the players who are on a continuous conveyor belt as Enzo Maresca is the fifth Blues boss in two-and-a-half years, replacing Mauricio Pochettino after he spent just one season at the helm.
The Blues struggled to come to terms with the Argentinian’s methods early in the season but five straight victories at the end of the campaign saw them finish a respectable sixth given the circumstances.
Cole Palmer is a rising star with both Chelsea and England (Picture: UEFA via Getty Images)
Maresca led Leicester City to the Championship title but pre-season has not gone well and the constant turnover of players and a new set of ideas could once again lead to a difficult start.
Cole Palmer scored 22 goals last season with Nicolas Jackson finally finding his feet and finishing the campaign with a flourish with 14 to his credit while more will be expected from Christopher Nkunku after he suffered numerous injuries.
Jackson is worth a nibble at evens with SpreadEx to beat his tally this time around while Palmer is 17/4 with the same firm to score over 19.5 and if Osimhen is signed the Blues are at 6/4 with multiple firms to finish in the top four. If not, they will have to settle for the Europa League at best next term.
• Sheffield Wednesday are 41/20 with Unibet, BetMGM and BetUk to win their Carabao Cup Yorkshire derby at Hull while Middlesbrough +1 are 7/10 with Betfred and BoyleSports to triumph at Leeds.
• Iga Swiatek has rested since winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and says she will treat her first hard-court match since March as a ‘practice tournament’ as she adjusts to the lighter tennis balls which will be used at this week’s Cincinnati Open.
The Pole is 13/5 to lift the women’s singles trophy with William Hill and bet365 but preference goes to reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff at an easy to find 11/2.
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