CHELSEA VS FULHAM

 

CHELSEA splashed out an obscene £300 million plus during last month and with the transfer window now shut, it will be interesting to see if that outlay improves their current embarrassing tenth place spot. And near-neighbours Fulham would love nothing more to spoil the feelgood factor with the Blues when they travel the short distance to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's owners appear to have been playing Football Manager on steroids after an incredible late transfer burst. They broke the British record by splashing out a reported £107 million for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. Added to that were Mykhailo Mudryk for £88.5m, Benoit Badiashile for £35m, Noni Madueke for £29m and Malo Gusto for £26.3m. And they are just the ones whose fees were disclosed. How many of them were sanctioned by manager Graham Potter is of course another question, but whether he wanted these players or not, he had better get results…and sharpish. Four of their new signings can't play in the Champions League, so it's vital they hit the ground running in the league and Friday is now very, very important for them. Potter will have to quickly integrate them into an underachieving squad. Fulham, who limited their spending to a modest £8 million on Torino star Sasa Lukic, have been going along very nicely indeed this season and the pressure for them is well and truly off. SERVER ONE