By Harry Sherlock
Jose Mourinho repeatedly wrote off his "little horses" last season but did so safe in the knowledge that grand plans to reshape his squad were afoot.
Few clubs acted as swiftly or as decisively in the transfer market this summer, with Chelsea securing five of their six signings by the end of July.
Sales, too, were handled quickly, Mourinho ruthlessly culling a number of so-called 'key' players to ensure that the club ended the transfer window in the black.
The first crucial acquisition identified was that of Diego Costa, Mourinho long having decided that a strikeforce of Samuel Eto'o, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres was simply not good enough. Indeed, Torres and Ba scored just 10 goals between them in the Premier League last season, while Eto'o hit nine himself.
Unsurprisingly, Mourinho axed all three this summer - Torres joining AC Milan on loan, despite repeatedly airing his desire to remain at the club, Ba heading to Besiktas for around £4.5m and Eto'o signing for Everton.
Due to Mourinho's mistrust of his strikers, Costa was identified as a principal target early in 2014 and negotiations to bring the striker to Stamford Bridge from Atletico Madrid began in March. A protracted deal, talks continued throughout April before Chelsea closed a deal worth £35 million in May.
Ironically enough, the major breakthrough in negotiations came in the immediate aftermath of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid, a match in which Costa scored to help Atleti to a 3-1 win and the final of Europe's elite club competition.
Costa himself revealed to Goal his reasons for joining Chelsea before the official confirmation was made public, saying: "I've wanted to play in the Premier League for a while. Chelsea are one of the greatest clubs of the world so there are many factors that make you take a decision like this."
His move was officially completed on July 15, Costa agreeing to sign a contract worth £150,000 per week in west London. He has already scored four goals in three Premier League appearances.
Left-back Filipe Luis, another player lured from Atletico Madrid, this time as a result of Ashley Cole's departure, swiftly joined him at Stamford Bridge.
The latter was allowed to leave for Roma upon the expiration of his contract – the Italians beating off competition from Tottenham, Liverpool and Milan to land their man.
Another early deal, Chelsea entered into advanced negotiations with Atletico over the signing in June and wrapped up the deal less than a month later, Luis eventually signing just three days after Costa.
Yet perhaps the finest acquisition of the summer – and the most surprising – was that of Cesc Fabregas. Heavily linked with Arsenal – who chose not to activate a buy-back clause in their former captain's contract – Fabregas was also the subject of interest from Manchester City, Manuel Pellegrini's side tabling a bid around the same time as the Blues.
Yet a charm offensive saw Fabregas – who had been made available by Barcelona in May – opt for Stamford Bridge and he completed his £30m move in June.- There was one more stunning deal to come, with Mourinho not yet satisfied with his attack, and Didier Drogba completed an emotional homecoming soon after. Mourinho said that Chelsea "belonged" to Drogba after his deal was rubber-stamped and the Ivorian will provide support to Costa and fellow new signing Loic Remy for the remainder of the season. Another interesting case, Remy was first sounded out over a move when Drogba suffered an injury in pre-season training, only for him to recover ahead of time.
Yet Torres's departure to Milan saw the Blues reignite their interest and agree to pay his buyout clause to acquire him from QPR, with Remy the club's final addition of the summer transfer window following the arrival of youth star Mario Pasalic from Hajduk Split.
The signing of Remy surprised many, especially considering the France international reportedly failed a medical at Liverpool earlier in the season, causing a move to Anfield to collapse.
Yet, despite all the arrivals, Chelsea find themselves in rude financial health. Having spent over £80m, the Blues moved to shift some deadwood from their squad and managed to recoup a staggering £40m for David Luiz from PSG.
Amidst heavy interest from Barcelona, the French giants entered into negotiations over a deal before the World Cup and the deal was pushed through quickly, with Luiz interrupting his preparations with Brazil to undergo a medical with the Ligue 1 giants. Mourinho failed to truly find a role for Luiz during last season and has publicly insisted that he preferred using the centre-back partnership of John Terry and Gary Cahill as opposed to fielding the erratic Luiz.
His performances at the World Cup vindicated Mourinho's reasoning.