Blues in red hot form
London, Aug. 13: Chelsea begin the defence of their Premier League title on Saturday at home to new boys West Brom having spent a “mere” £5 million in pre-season.
When Baggies boss Roberto di Matteo was a Chelsea player that was still a sizeable sum of money and there is something grimly amusing about the London club, who have enjoyed success on the back of Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s billions, being outspent in the transfer market.
But with former Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun the lone new arrival at Stamford Bridge, that has certainly been the case with Manchester City, underpinned by Gulf money, spending a colossal £85 million. City’s spending is likely to continue with the prospect of the likes of England winger James Milner still coming before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Whether spending quite so much money will give City the ‘instant’ success their owners seek remains to be seen in a league where their local rivals Manchester United are still a formidable force.
Chelsea look like an ageing team but modern training methods are fast forcing a re-evaluation of what older players can do and Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “The players will be better this season because they have one year more experience, like me.”
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