Revealed: How Chelsea fund latest transfer splurge as summer spend nears £157m

Chelsea are poised to take their summer spending to over £157million with the Blues having reached agreements for two more transfers in recent days.

Enzo Maresca's side have brought in Liam Delap from Ipswich in a £30million deal this summer, with the forward already featuring at the Club World Cup in the United States.

Chelsea are set to sign Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund for around £55m, while they have reached an agreement worth £60m for Brighton's Joao Pedro.

The versatile attacker is expected to sign a seven-year contract with the club.

The Blues have also signed Mamadou Sarr from sister club Strasbourg for £12m, taking their summer spend to around £157m.

Chelsea's deals are on top of a £62.4m outlay on Sporting Lisbon youngsters Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo, with their transfers announced back in March.

Fans many have queried another large spend from the club, amid an increased focus on profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and the £1.3billion forked out on transfers since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's takeover in 2022.

Chelsea's latest outlay will have been partly funded by their progress at the Club World Cup, with the Blues already benefiting from the riches on offer at the tournament.

An estimated £40million has been earned by Chelsea to date, starting with a participation fee based on 'sporting and commercial criteria', with European teams receiving the bulk.

Their 4-1 victory after extra time over Benfica in the last 16 banked them £9.6m alone, while Maresca's side will earn £15.3m if they beat Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.

The Blues had headed into the summer's two transfer windows with the strongest PSR position of all of the Premier League clubs, despite their transfer activity over recent seasons.

Chelsea could reportedly lose around £300m and remain compliant with Premier League regulations.

This follows the sale of their women's team to parent company BlueCo for £198.7m, with the change of ownership confirmed just two days before the deadline to register finances for the 2023-24 season.

The Premier League's 20 clubs opted not to close a loophole allowing teams to generate income by selling assets to sister companies, with the Blues already registering the sale of two hotels to an affiliate company for £76.5m.

Along with player sales of £152.5m, the sale of the women's team has helped the club record a net profit of £129.6m, compared with a loss of £90.1m in the previous year.

Despite adhering to the Premier League's rules, Chelsea are likely to be in breach of Uefa's financial regulations, which do not permit clubs to register income by selling assets to sister companies.

Chelsea entered into a dialogue with UEFA in April, with a fine believed to be the likeliest outcome as opposed to a ban from European football.