Hit or Miss: Chelsea's eye-watering £320m January transfer window spend of 2023 - one year on

At this stage in his budding career, it seems as though injuries will be the main barrier to Badiashile becoming a top-level centre-back. Chelsea's first capture of the 2023 winter window, his arrival for a relatively modest £35m (£44m) was massively overshadowed by the mindboggling spending it preceded.

Nevertheless, his quality has been a pleasant surprise to those unfamiliar with his exploits at Monaco; an elegant, ball-playing centre-back, his absence was felt at the backend of last season and for the opening months of the current campaign as he was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

He has looked a little rusty since his return, making a couple of high-profile errors, but there is the feeling that he will become an important figure in this side going forward as a left-sided option, especially given veteran Thiago Silva seems destined to depart in the summer and Wesley Fofana is continuing to struggle with recurrent serious knee problems.

Result? Hit.

It speaks volumes that the jury is still out on Mudryk's chances of success at Stamford Bridge a year on from Chelsea's staggering decision to splurge £89m ($113m) to beat Arsenal to the inexperienced Ukrainian winger.

There is no doubting his potential, but it's evident that - alongside so many other members of the squad that was eviscerated in the summer - his confidence was shot by last season's debacle, which reached its lowest ebb in the final months of the campaign with the Blues effectively playing for nothing and several players growing disillusioned under Frank Lampard's interim stewardship.

As expected, Mudryk has reaped the rewards of Pochettino's appointment, with the Argentine tactician clearly working hard to build a rapport with the attacker and in turn restore his confidence. He has shown - in flashes - his incredible ability, with some scintillating runs and dazzling footwork, but those moments have been too few and far between, and he is far too prone to a rush of blood to the head.

Currently, it feels as though the whole club and its fanbase are willing him to succeed, and he seems to be working tirelessly to repay their faith - but he has undeniably fallen well short of expectation, and if there is not an improvement then it would be little surprise to see Chelsea cut their losses.

Result? Miss.

Enzo has certainly endeared himself to the Chelsea faithful, who view him as one of the finest central midfielders on the planet, but they would be lying if they claimed they weren't expecting more of a return on the club's £106m ($135m) investment - a deal that was struck on deadline day after a transfer tug-of-war with Benfica that lasted the duration of the window.

The Argentine World Cup winner is certainly consistent, and he has shone in moments, but he is arguably yet to fully adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. His adjustment certainly wasn't aided by the malaise that engulfed the club throughout last season, and the expectation to perform immediately despite arriving from a relatively inferior league in Portugal's Primeira Liga.

However, he has predictably benefited from compatriot Mauricio Pochettino's arrival in the summer, as well as Chelsea's capture of his fellow South American midfielder, Moises Caicedo. He has been unshackled in a more advanced role, combining well with another fresh face in Cole Palmer. That said, he could always improve his attacking output, but this was always going to be a long-term investment, and at just 23 years old, Enzo is demonstrating the potential to become world-class.

Result? Hit.

To date, Chelsea's handling of Santos has been somewhat baffling. Signed to much fanfare in January last year before being loaned back to his boyhood club Vasco da Gama, then-18-year-old Santos inspired Brazil's Under-17 World Cup triumph and - given his growing reputation as a prodigious talent - was widely expected to form part of the first-team picture under Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

However, right at the end of the summer transfer window, the decision was abruptly taken to loan the midfielder to Nottingham Forest. Inevitably, former Forest boss Steve Cooper chose to rely upon the more experienced members of his squad as he sought to stave off relegation and the sack, with the latter to no avail. Rightly or wrongly, it is unsurprising that he was unwilling to place much responsibility on the shoulders of the teenage Brazilian amid that dogfight, and he clearly felt Forest wouldn't benefit from developing a player they didn't own. As such, Santos was recalled at the start of January having barely kicked a ball.

Result? Miss (so far).

There was scepticism that Madueke would be given sufficient opportunities to demonstrate his ability when the youngster swapped PSV for Chelsea, and that has proven to the the case over the course of the last year. Although he finished the previous campaign strongly, the winger only now finds himself with a starting place in his grasp having been forced to bide his time.

That is just reward for his hard work, having come in for particularly tough treatment from his manager - who clearly expects a lot of him having witnessed his potential first-hand during their time together at Tottenham. It had been rumoured in the lead-up to the January window that Madueke was ready to sever ties with the west Londoners to go in search of more regular game time elsewhere, but he has battled his way back to the forefront of Pochettino's thinking with a string of fine performances and telling contributions.

The 21-year-old was a signing for the long-term, and while it's taken a good chunk of time, he is beginning to demonstrate that is capable of delivering on his potential.

Result? Hit.

There was surely some hope within the walls of Stamford Bridge that young striker Fofana had the hallmarks of the next Erling Haaland when he was signed from the Man City hitman's former club Molde and integrated straight into the first team aged just 20.

Like Haaland, the Ivorian had been prolific in Norway, but he failed to hit the ground running in England and quickly fell by the wayside before being loaned out to Union Berlin in the summer. His spell in the German capital didn't exactly go to plan, however, as he clashed with now-former manager Urs Fischer amid off-field personal issues and continued to struggle for goals. Unsurprisingly, his time there was cut short and he has since been loaned to Premier League strugglers Burnley.

In truth, it already feels as though he is in the last-chance saloon and - unless he is miraculously prolific for the Clarets - it would be little surprise to see Chelsea cut their losses in the summer.

Result? Miss.

Young Frenchman Gusto was among those to be immediately loaned back to his former club for the rest of season, completing the 2022-23 campaign with Lyon. The right-back was expected to have the unenviable task of deputising for club captain and star player Reece James, but the Englishman's continued injury woes have opened the door to the new man.

He certainly hasn't shirked the responsibility, excelling on both the right and left flanks with Chelsea in the midst of a defensive injury crisis in the first half of the season, with full-backs James, Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella all sidelined for lengthy periods.

Surprisingly, Chelsea haven't missed James' attacking thrust either, with Gusto getting forward with...gusto, contributing four assists in his 20 appearances to date. He has, though, been sent off for a wild lunge against Aston Villa, and was lucky to escape the same fate against Fulham for a repeat offence - though that nasty edge has only endeared him to the Chelsea faithful.

James is facing a further two months on the sidelines after his latest hamstring issue, and he could face a real fight to snatch back his starting place if Gusto continues on this trajectory.

Result? Hit.

Without the guarantee of Champions League football, Chelsea were always unlikely to be able to secure Felix's signature on a permanent basis ahead of this season. Indeed, he would have been a luxury signing, but the temptation must have been there after his short-term loan in the second half of the ill-fated 2022-23 campaign.

Although he was guilty of overplaying at times, the mercurial Portuguese forward was more often than not the Blues' most potent attacking threat in his brief time at the club, with his technique and ability clear for all to see as he put himself in the shop window ahead of a dream summer move to Barcelona.

At Chelsea, it was ultimately a story of nearly moments, however, as Felix and the raft of January arrivals at Stamford Bridge failed to change of the course of a torrid season. Given the expectation on his shoulders when he arrived on loan from Atletico Madrid, it's fair to say that he ultimately underwhelmed. Given more time things might have been different, but it was fun while it lasted.

Result? Miss.