Chelsea may have £230m Antonio Conte transfer fear in fully backing Thomas Tuchel splurge

Chelsea v Malmo Match in Pictures

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Thomas Tuchel got off to a flying start in his first six months in charge of Chelsea, which culminated in winning the Champions League in May, thanks to a goal from fellow compatriot Kai Havertz. The German boss made one significant permanent signing over the summer with Romelu Lukaku arriving from Serie A champions Inter for a reported fee of £97.5million.

And the move has paid off so far, with the Blues sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League with 19 points, one ahead of second placed Liverpool.

Lukaku has scored four goals in 11 appearances since returning to the club, although the Belgian forward is set to face a spell on the sidelines following an ankle injury he picked up against Malmo in midweek.

Chelsea are in contention to qualify for the knockout phase of this season’s Champions League, while they are also still in the EFL Cup.

But Tuchel will have to be wary of repeating the same mistakes Antonio Conte made when he was in charge of the Blues.

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Chelsea have already been linked with several signings for next summer, however Tuchel must chose to spend wisely.

In his first season in charge, Conte, like Tuchel also experienced success. The Italian coach wrapped up the league title with two games two spare and would go on to set a new Premier League record for the most wins in a season.

However, in his second summer at Stamford Bridge, Conte splashed the cash on more than £230m’s worth of talent.

Alvaro Morata was signed from Juventus for a little less than £60m, Tiemoue Bakayoko arrived from Monaco for £36m, Danny Drinkwater from Leicester for £34m and Davide Zappacosta joined from Torino for just over £22.5m. And it didn’t end there.

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Italy left-back Emerson from Roma for £18m, Olivier Giroud moved across London from Arsenal for just over £15m, Ross Barkley from Everton for more than £15m and finally Antonio Rudiger for £31.50m – also from Roma.

Of those eight signings, arguably one one has been a success – Rudiger. While the Germany international has had his moments at Stamford Bridge, in recent times he has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

Morata, Zappacosta and Giroud have all since left the club without making their mark.

Barkley is still at Chelsea but has failed to make an impact and has been loaned to Aston Villa in the past, while Emerson, Bakayoko and Drinkwater are all currently out on loan.

True it is that Chelsea won the FA Cup that season, but Conte’s side would go on to finish fifth. All things considered, it was a relatively poor season for Chelsea and an expensive one too.

If Tuchel isn’t careful then there is always the fear that the same could happen to him and his next season if mistakes are not learnt from.

Tuchel’s side will play host to Norwich in the early kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday. 

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