Chelsea star Reece James has revealed that he ‘hates’ transfer windows, having missed large parts of the 2022-23 Premier League season due to a knee injury. The west London club have spent over £600m on players since the summer, with over £300m being spent in the January transfer window alone.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernandez in a £106.8m deal from Benfica and signed Ukraine international Mykhailo Mudryk for £88.5m. Eight players were signed in total, including 19-year-old Malo Gusto from Lyon who has been loaned back to the French club and is expected to provide competition for James at right-back next season.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday, James spoke of his dislike of transfer windows, saying: ‘The transfer window is one of my biggest hates because the January period is always so busy with many games and then you have transfer noise, it’s all a bit too much.’
He added: ‘I quite enjoy playing with new players, you don’t really know what to expect from them. They’ve all come in from different places all over the world, different teams, and they are all here to help at the end of the day. The quicker they can settle the quicker they can help.’
Chelsea have struggled this season and are currently ninth in the Premier League table, 10 points off the top four. But James is confident they can become ‘one of the best teams in the world’ once their new players have settled in and said: ‘I don’t think there’s a trophy we can’t win. When that happens I don’t know, but with the team we’re building and what the club is turning into… With all the young players, once we have played together for a longer period of time I think we’re going to be one of the best teams in the world.’
Transfer windows are a complex process, with clubs spending huge amounts of money to sign players from all over the world. During the January transfer window in 2022-23, Premier League clubs spent an estimated £420m on new signings, which included a British record fee of £106.8m for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica. The summer transfer window is traditionally opened on July 1st, although this could be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is possible for clubs to sign players after the deadline has passed, although any new arrivals will not be able to play until the next window opens.
