Alexander Isak of Newcastle United reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.placeholder image
Alexander Isak of Newcastle United reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Everton FC at St James' Park on May 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. | Getty Images
Chelsea have enjoyed a successful summer on and off the pitch with one Premier League club’s suffering being taken full advantage of.
There has been a definite split in the Premier League this summer in terms of how teams are going about their business with Chelsea one of those who can be happy with what they have done.
Arsenal and Liverpool will also fall under this bracket with those in the middle competing for the same signatures and others like Tottenham, Manchester United and Newcastle United struggling to make the sort of signings that they need to close the gap with those at the top.
One of the things that the Blues took full advantage of was the early opening of the transfer window for teams competing in the Club World Cup.
To get Liam Delap in the door for just £30m and bedded in already ahead of the new season could prove to be a masterstroke as is the additional physicality and confidence that Joao Pedro has brought to Enzo Maresca’s team.
It takes more than technique and ability to thrive at a top team and the Brazilian will always back himself. The pair played a starring role over in America and look like they will be shrewd acquisitions.
Chelsea have shown Newcastle how to do it in transfer window
There was no messing about, no drawn-out negotiations or transfer saga played out on social media via Fabrizio Romano with Sami Mokbel, BBC Sport’s senior football correspondent, suggesting on the BBC Football Daily podcast that other’s hesitance has been punished by a ruthless Chelsea recruitment team:
“Because in that case, if you were able to tell Liam de Lapp two, three months ago or Ekitike or Joao Pedro, you're going to be the main man, surely that might have made a bit of a difference to getting some of these players over the line. So how much did they actually know about Isak's intentions way back at the start of summer? Did they genuinely have no idea?
“I think they had, I mean I've described it as war gaming, Adam (Crafton), in terms of they were prepared for a bid to come in for him. I know there seems to be a bit of a narrative building that Alexander Isak had told Newcastle this was going to be his final, last season was going to be his final year.
“As far as I'm aware, that was never communicated to Newcastle. I think they knew there was going to be bids. I think they knew he could be unsettled. I think there was a possibility that he would agitate to leave.
“I think they've been prepared for that. But I think they're so stubborn, Adam, they're so obtuse, the ownership, in terms of trying to keep hold of him, that I think they always thought they would be in a position where they would dig in and resist. But I think they also knew realistically they were going to lose him at some point.”
How Chelsea have ruined Newcastle’s transfer plans
Newcastle knew they were letting Callum Wilson go and that Isak was probably going to be the subject of intense interest from Liverpool and yet still fumbled persuading both Delap and Pedro to head north and sign for the Magpies.
As Mokbel says, either could have been Eddie Howe’s main man and were both available for more than affordable transfer fees without breaking the bank in terms of wages either.
Chelsea are now in the position where, rather than being desperate to sell Nicolas Jackson to raise money or to free up space, they can sit back and wait whilst the other teams lower in the pecking order fight for players like Benjamin Sesko, with Newcastle interested, the Blues could pull off a minor miracle.
Despite their complaints, it isn’t PSR holding Newcastle back, it’s indecision and incompetence compared to those at Stamford Bridge who are doing little wrong this summer.
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