Boehly and Clearlake are embracing their role as unashamed disrupters. They have studied the FFP regulations and seen a chance to satisfy them by using the accounting practice of amortisation to spread the cost of transfer fees over long contracts.
Graham Potter: Chelsea's coach is confronted with an embarrassment of riches and a huge panel following the club's spending spree. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images This poses problems for Chelsea’s head coach. It is nice to talk about trusting the process. Chelsea have a lot of injuries and have not seen Félix in action since the forward’s debut ended in a rash red card during last month’s 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
It could all prove smart business. Benoît Badiashile, a 21-year-old French centre-back, has caught the eye since joining from Monaco for €36.8m. Mudryk sparkled during his cameo against Liverpool. No wonder Arsenal were so annoyed to miss out on the Ukrainian. Yet they were not willing to compete with Chelsea, who were always quietly confident they would get their man. It was clear that money was no object for Chelsea.
Joao Felix: arrived on an expensive short loan deal from Athletico Madrid and was sent off in his first match against Fulham. Photograph: Vince Mignott/EPA
I'm saying no