Chelsea's dogged pursuit of reinforcements before the transfer window slams shut in a few days' time looks eerily similar to last season's failed transfer reinforcements which led the club to their worst season in decades and cost José Mourinho, the most successful Chelsea manager ever, his job. And it looks like they might do it all over again.
The Londoners began last season on a high. They were Premier League champions and, in Eden Hazard, they had the league's best player. Diego Costa was a bankable and, in typical Chelsea fashion, sometimes infuriating centre forward. Cesc Fabregas was the architect-in-chief while, at the back, John Terry had rolled back the years and was in the form of his life.
There was no reason to suggest that they weren't going to, at the very least, challenge for Premier League honours once again.
By the middle of December, Chelsea were in 16th position and José Mourinho was handed his walking papers.
Ask most Chelsea fans and they will tell you that they were furious at how the Chelsea board treated Mourinho. He was 'one of them' and any attack on him from either the opposition or the board room felt like an attack on the fans themselves. But as Chelsea face a brand new season, this time with Antonio Conte in charge, it seems like the board are poised to repeat the errors one more time.
Last season's transfer window in London SW6 was defined by Chelsea's pursuit of John Stones from an Everton side who were VERY unwilling to make a deal. Chelsea submitted several bids throughout the course of the summer, each one slightly larger than the one before until, when on transfer deadline day it became obvious that they wouldn't get their man. Instead, Chelsea fans were presented with the central defensive signings of Papy Djilibodji from Nantes and Michael Hector from Reading.
These signings were met with a collective 'WHO?!' from the Chelsea faithful and their combined time in the Chelsea starting XI last season was 90 seconds. Djilibodji now plays for Sunderland and Hector is on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Combine a lack of defensive reinforcements with the stuttering form of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic and an injury to Thibault Courtois and you have a perfect storm of defensive mediocrity. Add to that Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic forgetting how to play football and Diego Costa seeming to be more focused on acting the prick than scoring goals and, well, you get Chelsea last season.
But is it looking any better this time around?
It seems that some of the past mistakes are being repeated. Chelsea have left it very late to bolster their defence. John Terry is one year old, Branislav Ivanovic is one year shitter and Gary Cahill is, well, Gary Cahill. There are only four senior defenders in the squad - an absolutely shocking number to enter a new season with.
And other clubs know it too.
After bidding for the not-for-sale Koulibaly, #CFC turn attentions to the unsellable Romagnoli #SillySeason https://t.co/MSihrgPVdV
— WAGNH (@WAGNH_CFC) August 22, 2016
Napoli's Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Milan's young centre back Alessio Romagnoli have both been linked. Up to now, neither club is willing to do business. But what about extra bodies for the defensive flanks? Antonio Conte is chasing Stephan Lichsteiner from his old club Juventus and Ricardo Rodriguez from Wolfsburg and both are badly needed, but Chelsea's lack of planning in the transfer market once again this season has handed the momentum to the club's negotiating the sale rather than the buying club.
If, for example, Napoli choose to sell the outstanding Koulibaly, the Italian team can essentially name their price. The same goes for Romagnoli. Chelsea have to buy, other clubs don't necessarily have to sell.
What is even more interesting is that José Mourinho seems to have learned from the mistakes Chelsea made last season, landing their transfer targets earlier in the summer and allowing them to assimilate into the Manchester United way of thinking well before the season gets underway. For Chelsea, any signing now will be playing catch-up.
It's no coincidence that Ed Woodward, who has come under huge criticism in the Moyes and van Gaal eras at Old Trafford, enthusiastically oversaw United's aggressive transfer policy over the summer. He had seen first hand how a summer of inactivity can do (Moyes) or a summer of incorrect signings (van Gaal) can negatively impact a club.
Milan's Alessio Romagnoli (left) is a key target for Antonio Conte
To suggest Chelsea will underachieve to the extent that they did last season would be a longshot. Eden Hazard looks to have rediscovered his form and Diego Costa seems like he will be equally effective at riling up opposition defences and actually scoring goals this time around. In N'Golo Kante, they have a heartbeat to their midfield which hasn't been there since the days of Claude Makelele.
Yet, you still look towards that defense and wonder if - with everyone one year older - it can handle the rigours of the modern English game, with Zlatan and Pep both hunting around looking for weaknesses.
It seems that Antonio Conte will be a good appointment for Chelsea and, if nothing else, his boundless enthusiasm for the game will rub off on the team and the fans. But, to all Chelsea fans out there, if they haven't done some big business by the end of the summer transfer window, it could be another season to forget in West London.
