Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix have arrived at Chelsea this summer carrying enormous reputations — and enormous price tags. Rogers cost a British-record £117m from Aston Villa, while Lacroix followed from Crystal Palace for £52m. Both players are approaching their peak years, both starred in the Premier League last season, and both made their World Cup debuts. The question worth asking is simple: why Chelsea?

Four years, nearly £2 billion, zero major domestic trophies

Since BlueCo completed their takeover in May 2022, Chelsea have spent close to £2 billion on players, cycled through six permanent managers, and failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in three of those four seasons. The club finished 12th in 2022/23 — the same campaign in which they spent an almost incomprehensible £747m — and slipped to 10th last term.

Chelsea did claim the Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, but the Conference League attracted far weaker opposition, and the Club World Cup was a one-off format bearing little resemblance to the grind of a domestic league campaign.

A squad without a plan

The pattern under BlueCo has been consistent in its inconsistency: big signings arrive without a clear plan for how they fit, managers change before any philosophy can take root, and careers stall. Mykhailo Mudryk remains the most striking example — signed in January 2023 for a fee rising to £89m, he made minimal impact and has not played since November 2024 following a failed drugs test, yet Chelsea continue to pay him with five years still remaining on his contract.

Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Alejandro Garnacho collectively cost around £170m yet each departed within two years, unable to secure regular game-time. Jamie Gittens arrived from Borussia Dortmund for £48.5m just 13 months ago and has already worked under four managers — the latest being Xabi Alonso — while injury has kept him out since January.

Where does Rogers actually fit?

Rogers prefers the No.10 role, but that is where Cole Palmer operates — and Palmer is arguably Chelsea's most important player. Rogers can play wide, but with Pedro Neto, Gittens, and Estevao Willian also in the squad, Chelsea were not short of attacking options before spending a British-record fee to add another. Paying £117m for a player and then deploying him out of position would be a damning indictment of the club's planning — yet it would hardly be without precedent at Stamford Bridge.

Lacroix enters a crowded backline

At 26, Lacroix arrives expecting to be Alonso's first-choice centre-back. If he achieves that, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Mamadou Sarr, Benoit Badiashile, and Wesley Fofana — himself a £70m signing who has yet to fulfil his potential at the club — will compete for one remaining starting berth. It is a deeply bloated unit, and one managerial change could alter Lacroix's status entirely.

A fresh start, or the same old story?

There are signs that Chelsea have adjusted their recruitment criteria this summer, pursuing more established players rather than potential-laden teenagers. Perhaps the ownership has absorbed some lessons from four years of expensive mistakes. Yet the structural risks remain: if the club falters in the Premier League title race, pressure on Alonso will build quickly, and Chelsea's recent history suggests that sacking the manager is never far from the agenda.

Rogers and Lacroix are talented, proven, and entering the best years of their careers. That is precisely what makes their decision to join Chelsea so striking — and so risky.