Why Chelsea and Enzo Maresca could wait two weeks to confirm next signing

Although the summer transfer window officially opened on Friday, Chelsea may have to wait longer before they can complete any new signings.

Enzo Maresca will have just over two months to bring in new reinforcements as he looks to put his own stamp on his squad. The Italian arrived at Stamford Bridge after guiding Leicester City to promotion to the top flight.

He will be tasked with ensuring that the Blues have a successful season in the Premier League and across other competitions including the Europa Conference League. Even before the window opened, Chelsea have been credited with an interest in a number of potential new signings.

A lot of planning has taken place behind the scenes, with both sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart targeting a forward and a left-back to bring to Stamford Bridge this summer. Centre-back was also a priority but the club have since eased the pressure by signing Tosin Adarabioyo.

However, Chelsea may still be forced to wait to announce any new deals to ensure that they comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) and Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). June 30 marks the final day of the accounting period for Chelsea and other clubs in the Premier League.

It is also the day on which most players’ and managers’ contracts will expire, meaning that July 1 is often the first day that a player or manager will officially join a new club – Maresca being an example.

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In the case of players, Thiago Silva will see his contract expire on June 30 along with other academy players including Josh Brooking, Noah Hay and Samuel Rak-Sakyi.

With Chelsea expected to be active in the transfer window, co-owner Todd Boehly has defended the club’s recruitment policy despite failing to win a trophy for a second successive season. “When people talk about spending, the way I think about it is we’re investing,” he said.

“We have a collection of players and, really, those players continue to hold their value. It’s not as if we’re writing off the investment, so what we’re really thinking about is ‘what does it cost to finance that portfolio of players?’

“Of course, some players will go up in value and some players will go down in value, but I would argue that the investments that we’ve made have — on balance — continue to hold their value.”