Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has heaped praise on the club's new owners for showing "great ambition" in the transfer market.
The Blues entered the window restricted by sanctions imposed by the UK government on Roman Abramovich, which prevented any new signings from being made or new contracts being offered to players.
Such uncertainty ended with the completion of a takeover led by American Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel has been backed at the start of a new era.
Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly are among the new signings made by the London club, with Barcelona duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong potentially on their way to Stamford Bridge.
Azpilicueta signed a new deal after being a target for Barca and the defender is excited about what Chelsea could achieve with the quality of signings they have made.
"It's very important that we keep the ambition high and keep winning trophies - and we have showed that with our transfers and the new players coming in," he told Sky Sports.
"I've seen a great ambition, they [the owners] have been very transparent and honest since the first day.
"We've seen straight away in the transfer window and it's not easy to step up after just a few months of sanctions where you can't make any movements.
"In football, the competition is really high. You have more teams who want players and it's very difficult. Sometimes you need a bit more time, but we've had a great recruitment until now.
"They [the new owners] have shown in other sports how successful they have been and I am fully confident that we will have a successful period as a club."
While Azpilicueta would not comment specifically on any names, he did suggest he expects further new arrivals.
"We're still working on more until the last day. There's still some movement around and I'm very excited," he added.
Red Bulls win New York derby as Seattle knock out Los Angeles FC
Goals from Felipe Carballo and Dante Vanzeir settled the New York derby as New York Red Bulls defeated New York City 2-0 at the Citi Field to enter the Eastern Conference final of the MLS Cup.
Uruguayan Carballo blasted an effort into the top corner in the 16th minute to give the visitors the breakthrough in the 16th minute before Vanzeir drilled an Emil Forsberg corner in off the post nine minutes later.
City probed for a way back into the game as they enjoyed about 70% of possession and attempted 25 shots. But failing to produce a goal despite an xG of 2.8, the 2021 champions crashed out.
Meanwhile, it was a clinical and well-organised display from the Red Bulls, who generated an xG of 0.88 with nine shots and were happy to sit back and protect their two-goal advantage for the majority of the game.
"It's a big win today, but in the end, it’s the next step. We have to continue this hard work and next week take the next step,” said Red Bulls boss Sandro Schwarz after the game.
Michel delighted with Girona's return to form after injury boosts
Michel puts Girona's rediscovered form down to the energy of the returning players from injury after they thrashed Espanyol in LaLiga on Saturday.
Girona had endured a shaky start to the season but moved up to fifth in the standings on 21 points after a superb home victory featuring a Bojan Miovski brace and goals by Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci.
Michel's side have now won their last three LaLiga matches, going on their best such run since between April and May 2024, the last time they recorded three victories on the bounce.
"Today's victory, which is our third [in a row], it's due to the fact we got people back, because we've rested, because we've had a very good week of training and because that energy today was noticeable," Michel told a press conference.
"The only thing I hope is that we continue to recover people, that we continue to have the necessary minutes for everyone and that, as we have very tough games coming up every three days, we need everyone to be at 100%; we'll see if we can achieve this without any problems."
Yaser Asprilla and Krejci, back from injury, combined for the fourth goal, but it was the pairing of Miovski and Gil who made the night with lethal attacks for the second and third goals.
"I am very happy for Miovski, he is a player who gives everything in training," Michel added. "I was worried because he wasn't scoring goals.
"He always tries to do his best for the team, he needs time. I am happy for him.
"Bryan is a very important player for everyone, his best version is yet to come. Right now, the process with him is what we all expect."
Last season's surprise package Girona face Austrian side Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Wednesday and the manager hopes they can repeat Saturday's performance in the European game.
"This is the Girona I want, 100%. We started the game very well, that's the reality," Michel added.
"The first half hour was spectacular, with and without the ball... We had a presence up front. The first half hour is what we want to do this season."
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