'The whole thing is very odd' - Chelsea's £1bn transfer spend questioned by Asmir Begovic with ex-Blues 'keeper admitting he hasn't heard of some signings

The Premier League giants have invested heavily since Todd Boehly completed his takeover of the club in summer 2022. Eye-watering amounts of money have been splashed out on the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer.

Begovic, who spent two seasons at Stamford Bridge between 2015 and 2017, has told The Byline podcast of business in west London: "If you’re spending £115m on Caicedo, surely you spend £120m on Declan Rice? I don’t know Declan personally, I’m not saying he doesn’t want to play for Arsenal, but hand on heart I think he’d have wanted to go to Chelsea. You look at some of these players and think, ‘How is Declan Rice going somewhere else?’ Players like this, they would go to Chelsea in the past; players in their prime, and Declan Rice is in his prime.

"I watch football like a mad man and I’m not familiar with half these players! For me it’s odd, the whole thing is very odd. I don’t see the construction of the team, this whole rebuilding transition phase is a bit of an excuse to me. I’m not saying I don’t like Enzo Fernandez, but if we’re going to spend £230m on him and Caicedo then I’d prefer Declan Rice over any of those players if I can get him. Get the best players in through the door please."

Ex-Bosnia international Begovic, who took in 33 appearances for the Blues and is now on the books at Queens Park Rangers, added: "Honestly, I mean in the last 12 months… what has happened at Chelsea football club? It just beggars belief. I mean the squad of players at Mauricio Pochettino’s disposal, the amount of money spent is 12th in the league – it’s mid-table! It is literally mid-table. If they were any higher you would be working miracles. You have a bit of [bad] luck with Christopher Nkunku, I get it, he’s a top player. Cole Palmer has only just come in.

"But what is going on with the recruitment of these players? Why is Chelsea football club rebuilding? Why is Chelsea football club in a transition? This is one of the best. I mean I’ve been there. I’m proud to have been there. It’s one of the best locations to play football in the world. I remember being with players in the dressing room, world class, world class, world class. Buying from Barcelona, buying from Real Madrid, buying from Bayern Munich. It’s like, we’re buying from Brighton, potential players. And I get you need a part of that, but where is the top world class players?"

Chelsea missed out on European qualification last season, leaving them without continental competition for the first time since 2016-17, and they have stumbled out of the blocks in 2023-24 – picking up four points from a possible 12.