Chelsea’s uber-dramatic transfer window capture of Liverpool’s star Spanish striker Fernando Torres set in train a dramatic few days for the EPL title holders, which ended last weekend with their defence of that title hanging by the proverbial thread.

The West London club signed £75m worth of players on transfer deadline evening, the same day as they revealed £68.6m worth of losses in the financial year covering last season’s EPL and FA Cup double triumph.

And Torres’s debut, against his very recent Liverpool team-mates ended with him substituted long before the end, and his Chelsea side beaten 1-0.

 

Chelsea’s on-field problems this season have largely centred on their central defence, leading to suggestions in some circles that Torres was a signing by owner Roman Abramovich rather than team supremo Carlo Ancelotti.

However, Chelsea also completed the deadline day signing of Brazilian centre-back David Luiz from Portuguese giants Benfica.

The 23-year-old has been a long-time Blues target and was signed for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £25m, which met Benfica’s asking price and was a £4m improvement on Chelsea’s previous offer.

Luiz made his debut as a substitute in the Liverpool defeat, coming on when Chelsea were already behind to former Porto midfielder Raul Meireles’s strike.

The Blues’ sporting director Frank Arnesen vehemently defended Chelsea’s spending spree when interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live this week.

Arnesen is responsible for the club’s academy, which has been criticised for failing to produce youngsters to break into Chelsea’s first team. But he praised the signing of Torres, saying:

“This will give them (Chelsea’s youngsters) inspiration. If you can get Torres in, a European champion, a world champion, one of the best strikers in the world, everybody is happy.”

Chelsea’s losses came in the year set as a target for the club to break-even ever since Abramovich’s takeover in 2003.

But the club said in its official announcement that “the group had become cash positive for the first time since its acquisition by Roman Abramovich.”

Concerns have also been expressed that Chelsea will struggle to meet Uefa’s newly-introduced financial fair play’ requirements.

That could see the Blues barred from the lucrative Champions League competition if they don’t show that they can “break-even” without the sort of external financing which Abramovich has supplied over the last eight years.

Chelsea visit West London neighbours Fulham in the EPL next Monday night.