Are Chelsea genuine title contenders?
Well, the Blues certainly looked the part on Friday night, demolishing an admittedly hopeless West Ham United 5-1 at the London Stadium, all the goals coming during a 39 minute spree either side of half time.
Summer signing João Pedro scored his first Premier League goal for the club, while fellow new recruit Estêvão Willian played a starring role, with Liam Delap starting up front, before Jamie Gittens and Jorrel Hato were both introduced later on.
In all, the Blues have brought in nine new recruits this summer, only a few of whom are calling Strasbourg home for now, spending around £262m, but they're not done yet, so could they sign a "generational" Premier League star before Monday's deadline?
Chelsea chasing more talent
One deal that has not gone through, but is expected to before the transfer window slams shut, is Alejandro Garnacho's move to Stamford Bridge.
Garnacho-Man-Utd-Lyon
As noted by Simon Johnson of The Athletic, this deal cannot be finalised until Chelsea sell players, looking to move on Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, David Datro Fofana, Alfie Gilchrist and others.
Garnacho remains "keen" on the switch to West London, but should Chelsea actually focus on signing another of Manchester United's semi-outcasts.
Well, it is being reported by United in Focus that Chelsea are in the race to sign Kobbie Mainoo from Old Trafford, while Tottenham, Brighton, Fulham and Brentford are also noted as holding a long-standing interest in the £70m-rated sensation.
They add that Mainoo is currently considering his future at Old Trafford, having been an unused substitute for both Premier League fixtures so far, with Rúben Amorim favouring Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte, who are hardly making themselves undroppable.
Mainoo Amorim quotes
So, could the England international actually be the man to make the move from Man United to Chelsea in the next few days?
What Kobbie Mainoo would bring to Chelsea
What makes Mainoo's lack of minutes this season particularly baffling is how integral he has been to Man United in the very recent past.
The highlight of the Erik ten Hag era was undoubtedly the FA Cup triumph, and Mainoo was excellent in the final victory over Manchester City, scoring, what turned out to be, the winning goal at Wembley.
Last season, despite spending two periods of time on the sidelines due to injury, the England international still accumulated 37 appearances across all competitions, starting 23 of these matches, most memorably scoring during the famous comeback victory over Olympique Lyonnais.
Teammate Rasmus Højlund even described Mainoo as a "generational talent" back in February 2024, but how does his importance to Man United compare to Garnacho?
Let's find out.
Mainoo vs Garnacho career comparison
Stat
Age
Man U apps
PL apps
PL starts
International caps
Major tournament apps
Estimated value
Courtesy of Transfermarkt
As the table outlines, Garnacho, who is a year older, does have more club-level experience, but is he the bigger talent?
Well, Mainoo has made himself more of an important figure at Man United, with Amorim labelling him a "big talent", adding that he has "big plans" for the "perfect" defensive midfielder, while Garnacho, on the other hand, has been told to find a new club, part of the infamous bomb squad at Carrington.
Kobbie-Mainoo-man-utd
This is partly due to Garnacho's off-field issues, with teammate Bruno Fernandes admitting that the winger does not "have the best attitude", which is certainly a concern, and something that has never been accused of Mainoo.
The duo's respective international careers are also telling.
At last summer's Copa América, Garnacho's only appearance came during a dead-rubber group game against Peru in Miami, adding only two caps in an Argentina shirt in the subsequent 12 months.
Concurrently, over at Euro 2024, Mainoo was viewed as England's saviour, introduced as a half-time substitute during the final group game against Slovenia, before starting all four knockout phase fixtures, including the narrow final defeat at the hands of Spain.
Kobbie-Mainoo-England-Euro-2024-final
Thus, while Garnacho is a precocious talent, he is something of a maverick, often inconsistent, and paying £40m for him could be viewed as a massive risk; Chelsea could end up with another João Félix or Mykhailo Mudryk on their hands.
Mainoo, on the other hand, appears to be a model professional, still with plenty of room to develop, so taking advantage of the turmoil at Old Trafford and snapping him up might just be the smart move.