Would the club continue to spend as lavishly as they did when Roman Abramovich was at the helm, or would wallets be a little tighter going forward? It didn’t take long to find out as the west London outfit splashed out almost £150m on Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella. Todd Boehly was happy to spend big in his first transfer window as Chelsea owner Chelsea have targeted Everton winger Anthony Gordon (right) Now, with just over a week to go in the transfer window, a new target has emerged in the shape of Everton’s Anthony Gordon. The promising youngster was one of the only bright sparks for the Toffees last season as they narrowly avoided relegation, but this was only his first full Premier League campaign. However, Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay £60m to sign him, which would make the 21-year-old one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history. Is it really worth that amount of money? Sportsmail took a look at his eye-watering price tag, whether he could force his way into Thomas Tuchel’s side and whether he really is needed at Stamford Bridge. How much?! Premier League clubs have already spent a combined total of more than £1bn this summer as transfer fees continue to soar. But £60m for a player who has scored just four goals in 63 games for Everton – really? Gordon seems like a good prospect, however for such a hefty fee, clubs would normally expect someone closer to be the final article. Gordon did well at Everton last season but £60m is a huge fee for a young prospect Instead, Gordon is still a relatively raw talent. He has produced moments of brilliance in an Everton shirt, scoring twice against Brighton last season and then scoring the winning goal against Manchester United in April, which went some way to lifting Frank Lampard’s side away from the bottom three. However, for £60m, fans would certainly want someone who has proven he can deliver on a consistent basis, and Gordon hasn’t done that yet.
Where would it fit? Gordon has primarily played as a winger at Everton and looks equally comfortable on either side. He has also been used more centrally in the early weeks of the season than Lampard at times due to Everton’s problems up front. The Goodison club sold Richarlison to Tottenham earlier this summer, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin has since suffered another injury blow, leaving the team short of attacking options. Gordon has moved across the middle to cover for Calvert-Lewin, but he doesn’t appear to be a natural finisher and has rarely looked to score this season. Thomas Tuchel will have to think about how he can get the best out of Gordon at Chelsea With that in mind, Tuchel may decide to try Gordon in a deeper position where he is tasked with creating goals rather than scoring them should he move to west London. Chelsea are well stocked at left wing-back as they can call on Cucurella and Ben Chilwell, but rely heavily on Reece James on the opposite flank. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is approaching his 33rd birthday and now looks more suited to play on the right side of a back three, so Tuchel may see Gordon as a player who could compete with James to play as a wing back. Should Chelsea prioritize Gordon? The Blues are not short of wingers. Tuchel already has Sterling, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi to fill those positions, although the latter two have been heavily linked with exits and Hudson-Odoi is closing in on a loan move to Bayer Leverkusen. Even if Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi move on, it looks like the wings are actually an area of ​​strength for Chelsea. Meanwhile, bringing in a goal scorer should be the priority. Chelsea have scored just three goals from three league games this season – one penalty and two goals from defenders. Callum Hudson-Odoi is set to leave Chelsea on loan to join Bayer Leverkusen this summer. Hakim Ziyech could also follow him from the exit in the final days of the transfer window In attack, they look a little out of sorts, and they clearly lack someone who can regularly put the ball in the back of the net. Is Gordon that player? The numbers would suggest no. Meanwhile, central midfield could also trouble Tuchel given the injury history of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in recent seasons. Chelsea have added teenagers Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei to their squad this summer, but could they benefit from having another player in the middle of the park? Plus there’s the backline that contains Thiago Silva and Koulibaly, who are both the wrong side of 30. Chelsea want to sign Wesley Fofana but are struggling to agree terms with Leicester They are undoubtedly high-class defenders, but it is unlikely that they will be able to play in every match. Chelsea have turned to Leicester’s Wesley Fofana, however that deal has been delayed and they are struggling to make a breakthrough, with the Foxes having all bids rejected so far. It seems the spine of the team needs addressing, but Chelsea are in danger of getting preoccupied with the fringes of the squad and overlooking the positions that really need strengthening. Would Gordon start for Chelsea? Tuchel has gone with three ahead of Mount, Sterling and Havertz for each of Chelsea’s opening three games this season. Would Gordon start ahead of any of them? It seems unlikely at this stage in his career, despite the trio having a somewhat uninspiring start to the season. If Tuchel sees him as a potential wing-back, it’s also hard to see Gordon making the team ahead of James, who has been tried and tested in that position, and is now an established international. Gordon would likely slot under Mason Mount and Kai Havertz in the lineup Displacing Raheem Sterling in the starting line-up would also be a difficult task for Gordon That could leave Gordon on the fringes of the team, and that’s a tough place to be, especially at Chelsea. Hudson-Odoi has failed to build on his initial promise and is now on the brink of retirement, while Pulisic and Ziyech have also seen their careers stagnate as they have been unable to cement their place in the starting line-up. Gordon could suffer a similar fate if he swaps Merseyside for London, as it seems likely that he will initially be restricted to an off-the-bench role. Fan reaction to the proposed move The backlash over Gordon’s potential £60m move to Chelsea has largely caught the club’s fans off guard, particularly as it appears to coincide with the departure of Hudson-Odoi. Several fans have claimed that Hudson-Odoi, who is the same age as Gordon, is a better prospect and Chelsea should look to keep him instead of loaning him out to bring in a new player. “#CFC signing Anthony Gordon from Everton for £60m while Callum Hudson-Odoi is restless on the bench is strange from Chelsea. A ridiculous amount of money being spent and a waste of talent who wants to leave,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “Don’t sign Gordon! He only got 4 league goals last season, Ontoy has 4 league goals in 5 years, keep him even if he doesn’t perform!” another was added. Chelsea paid a record fee for Romelu Lukaku last summer but struggled It was also pointed out by one fan that Chelsea risk repeating a mistake from last summer when they sold Tammy Abraham to Roma and brought in Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in a move that failed to pay off. They wrote: “Chelsea could save £60m and give Gordon match time to Hudson-Odoi. Ontoi is a much better player. “Equally they could have saved £100m and given Lukaku’s minutes to Tammy.” It seems the fans are far from convinced that Chelsea signing Gordon is a good idea and the England Under-21 international may have his work cut out for him to prove people wrong if he joins Tuchel’s men in the final days of the transfer period.