Chelsea have spent £1bn, are the worst team of 2023 – now Mauricio Pochettino demands more transfers

Fans are pointing to one stat that proves Chelsea will be more than happy to see the back of the year 2023.

The Blues have spent a whopping £600million across two transfer windows this year, and around £1bn since Todd Boehly’s takeover.

But splashing the cash has done little to improve their exploits on the pitch.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost 2-0 to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Lewis Dobbin firing the hosts to victory.

As a result of picking up zero points on Merseyside, Chelsea have slumped into the bottom half of the table and into 12th place – the very same position they finished last season in.

It’s no wonder the 2021 Champions League winners have ended up sitting in mid-table, though – Chelsea have won just 39 points in 39 games this calendar year.

No ever-present Premier League team from this season and last season has recorded fewer in this period (excluding Everton’s 10-point deduction).

They have the lowest points-per-game total of those 17 ever-present teams.

Last season saw the Blues record their lowest points tally (44) since the 1987/88 season (42).

They ended up trophy-less for only the second time since 2016 and also missed out on playing European football this campaign for the first time since 2016.

This season hasn’t seen the change Blues fans would’ve been hoping for, either. That’s despite owner Todd Boehly bringing in former Tottenham manager Pochettino, who led Spurs to a Champions League final in 2019.

But while one fan base struggles, another over 200 miles up north is enjoying pointing out what they deem to be huge errors made by two of Chelsea’s summer signings.

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Former Brighton man Moises Caicedo and ex-Southampton star Romeo Lavia were both wanted by Liverpool in the last transfer window as Jurgen Klopp rebuilt his midfield.

However, both opted to sign for Chelsea in the end. The Blues hijacked the Caicedo move despite Liverpool offering a British record of £111m.

Chelsea signed him for £115m in the end.

Liverpool also had numerous bids for Lavia rejected, only for the Blues to come in with a £58m offer and snap him up.

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Lavia is yet to make an appearance for Chelsea having injured his ankle in September. He also suffered another recent setback in his rehab, whilst Caicedo has played 17 games in all competitions, making 13 starts.

But despite losing both transfer battles, Liverpool currently sit top of the Premier League table – and their fans think they’re having the last laugh despite losing the transfer tug of wars to the west Londoners.

“Hope Caicedo and Lavia are having a lovely time over there,” one Red wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A second said: “Liverpool are 18 points ahead of Chelsea. A point for every week since Chelsea fans were laughing at Liverpool for missing out on Lavia and Caicedo.”

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“Should be the last time any player rejects Liverpool for Chelsea,” a third added.

After the loss at Everton, Pochettino admitted his side needed to dive into the market and spend more, too, despite the club’s mammoth £434.5m spend in the summer.

After the match, he said: “Football is about scoring goals and we were not clinical in front of goal. I’m really, really disappointed. We didn’t get the point we deserved. 

“I think we were better but we didn’t get what we wanted.

“This was a game to play and to win. It’s a problem we need to check. We need to analyse the reality. We need to talk and to try to improve in the next transfer market.

“We are dealing with this. After five months, or the first half of the season, we need to check and that’s the reality. If we are not aggressive enough (on the pitch) maybe we need to do something.”

Chelsea next face bottom side Sheffield United next Saturday in what will be a must-win game for Pochettino’s side.