Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has spent large parts of this season very publicly complaining about his club’s lack of ambition in the transfer market and it seems that whoever takes over the Stamford Bridge hot seat from the Italian coach – who is widely expected to leave at the end of the season – will face a similar scenario as the Blues hierarchy are intent on no longer being one of the Premier Leagues big spenders.
According to a report in the London Evening Standard the days of the London club blowing their rivals out of the water in the transfer market are over, and their new manager will be expected to deliver success on a restricted budget.
One of the main reasons why the club needs to curtail its spending is the estimated £1.2 billion cost of their soon to be built new stadium.
Chelsea’s Russian Oiligarch owner Roman Abramovich is not willing to finance the cost of the new stadium himself and the Stamford Bridge club are currently in discussions with lenders to finance the building of their new home.
However, this is Chelsea so although they may not be the biggest spenders as they were for much of the last decade or so, they will probably still have a higher transfer budget than most other clubs in Europe.