No major signings for Chelsea

LONDON. — Having spent so long in the clear-headed pursuit of John Stones, the transfer window closed with Chelsea’s recruitment strategy lost in a fog of confusion. The move for Papy Djilobodji was accompanied by a trace of desperation and the reason behind a deadline-day swoop for Michael Hector was hard to find.

There would be no Stones, at least not yet, no Aymen Abdennour, no Nicolas Otamendi, no Marquinhos and no Ezequiel Garay to stabilise a creaking defensive unit. There would be no Paul Pogba to share the workload with Nemanja Matic in midfield.

There will be no Hector either, because he was sent back to Reading on loan having completed a £4million transfer and signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge. It is a wonderful move for the 23-year-old, London-born Jamaica international, a Chelsea fan who has not been blessed with the good fortune of football’s silver spoon.

Hector was out on loan 11 times before establishing a place in the first-team. He impressed for Reading last season and has improved fast. Crystal Palace were trying to buy him when Chelsea made a move. But the transfer does not fit any of their usual profiles.

The Barclays English Premier League champions are committed to investing heavily in youth but at a teenage level. They already own several promising central defenders. Tomas Kalas, Nathaniel Chalobah, Kenneth Omeruo and Andreas Christensen are among 33 players they have out on loan, with teenager Jake Clarke-Salter earning acclaim in the academy. They also have a buy-back option on Jeffrey Bruma who has matured at PSV Eindhoven.

Djilobodji had been trying to force a move to Celta Vigo, having been rejected by several English clubs, when Chelsea swept in to pay £2.7m. In France, his transfer was greeted with astonishment only eclipsed by the figures surrounding Manchester United’s swoop for Anthony Martial of Monaco.

Djilobodji is primarily a stop-gap to provide cover for John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma while a future attack on Everton for Stones in plotted.

There were echoes of Chelsea’s failed 2013 bid for Wayne Rooney in the Stones saga, with Jose Mourinho’s public comments designed to exert pressure but not backed up with a deal-clinching offer until too late in the day. — Mailonline.