It wasn't too long ago that it all looked rather bleak for Graham Potter.
Chelsea had splashed the cash in January, breaking the Premier League's record transfer fee and handing out seven and eight-year deals to some of Europe's hottest prospects.
Yet that expenditure did not have the desired immediate effect, with the Blues managing just one victory between the start of January and the end of February.
March, however, has heralded the shoots of recovery, and while Chelsea remain 10th in the top flight ahead of hosting relegation-threatened Everton on Saturday, they have won their last three games, which included progressing past Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
The pressure seems to have eased on Potter, and Chelsea will now focus on securing a European place for next season – which, given their extraordinary spend, will be the least Todd Boehly and Co. will expect.
But just how are each of Chelsea's mid-season additions getting on?
Benoit Badiashile (Grade: B)
The first through the door at Stamford Bridge in January, Badiashile arrived from Monaco in a deal reportedly in the region of €38million (£33.7m).
A powerful, left-sided centre-back, Badiashile was a regular for Monaco and at 21, still has a long career ahead of him. He has made seven league appearances since his switch to England, starting six of those games, though he was not included in the Blues' Champions League squad.
Joao Felix (Grade: B)
Joao Felix's relationship with Diego Simeone had reportedly becoming strained over the first half of the season, and Atletico Madrid's record signing has been given a chance to rediscover his spark in England.
Whether or not this loan deal will be made permanent remains to be seen, but the Portugal forward has certainly shown flashes of his immense talent, even if that has not always turned into goals. A promising debut was marred by a red card after a reckless challenge on Fulham's Kenny Tete, which saw Joao Felix banned for three matches, but he has made eight appearances since he returned, starting each one.
Only Kai Havertz has registered more expected goals (xG) than Joao Felix's 3.83 in Chelsea's squad in that time, and the data shows the former Benfica prodigy has been unfortunate with his finishing, scoring once from an expected goals on target (xGOT) figure of 2.95. Essentially, based on the quality of his attempts, he would be anticipated to be on three goals already, while he has also hit the woodwork on three occasions.
David Datro Fofana (Grade: C)
For all Chelsea's business, they did not sign an out-and-out proven striker in the January window. Fofana is arguably the best fit for the position of the players they brought in, but the 20-year-old Ivory Coast international is extremely raw.
Fofana scored 15 Eliteserien goals in 2022 for Molde, but the Premier League is a world away than Norway's top tier. He has made three appearances for the Blues, one in the FA Cup and two in the league. His only start did not go according to plan, however, as he was taken off at half-time in a 1-0 home loss to lowly Southampton. Fofana played two key passes and also managed two shots, but he has not played a senior game since that defeat on February 18.
Andrey Santos (Grade: N/A)
Another one for the future, Santos has just turned 18. He's back playing on loan for Vasco da Gama in Brazil, where he came through the ranks and made his debut at the age of 16.
Mykhaylo Mudryk (Grade: C)
Chelsea won the tussle for Ukraine international Mudryk, getting one over on league leaders Arsenal in the process. However, paying a fee that could reach £89m (€100m) means the expectations are sky-high.
An impressive cameo against Liverpool was followed up by a start against Fulham, yet the 22-year-old was subbed off at half-time having failed to have a shot, create a chance or attempt a cross.
Mudryk has been in and out of Potter's starting XI and is yet to score, though he did provide his first assist with a header back to Mateo Kovacic in a 3-1 win over Leicester City last week. Chelsea fans will have to be patient but there's a reason the winger was so highly sought after while at Shakhtar Donetsk.
Noni Madueke (Grade: C)
Just five days after Mudryk's arrival, Chelsea decided to sign another winger. Madueke had seemed set to fill the Cody Gakpo void at PSV following the Netherlands international's move to Liverpool, yet the Blues decided they needed to bolster their forward options.
Like Badiashile and Fofana, Madueke was not listed in Chelsea's Champions League squad, so he is only an option in the Premier League for now. He has made four appearances and two starts, creating five goalscoring opportunities.
Madueke has plenty of potential but it does seem he might have been better served staying at PSV for more game time.
Malo Gusto (Grade: N/A)
Like Santos, full-back Gusto is back on loan at the club he was signed from, Lyon, who Chelsea paid a reported £26m (€29.7m) towards the end of the transfer window. The 19-year-old was a regular in Ligue 1 until sustaining a thigh muscle injury in early February, and he is yet to return to action.
Enzo Fernandez (Grade: B+)
The cherry on top of Chelsea's hugely expensive cake came on deadline day, as they smashed the British transfer record to sign World Cup-winning midfielder Fernandez from Benfica for a cool £106.7m (€120m).
Fernandez was crucial to Argentina's success in Qatar but only had half a season in Europe under his belt, with the 22-year-old having only joined Benfica from River Plate last year.
He has started all eight of the matches he has been available for and has shown some excellence in possession – a sublime cross for Joao Felix against West Ham and an exquisite, chipped pass for Kai Havertz to latch onto against Leicester have both resulted in assists.
Fernandez has already attempted 264 more passes than any other Chelsea player since his debut (623) and has been involved in the most open play shot-ending sequences (24), while his 96 duels and 44 duels won are also team-highs in that time.
A goal has so far evaded Fernandez and Karim Adeyemi got the better of him too easily for Dortmund's winner in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie last month, but it's been a strong start.
Chelsea midfielder Fernandez undergoes groin surgery
Chelsea will be without Enzo Fernandez for their final six games of the season due to a groin issue.
Fernandez was forced off with an injury during Chelsea's 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday.
And it has now been confirmed the 23-year-old World Cup winner has undergone surgery, and will subsequently miss the final month of Chelsea's campaign.
Fernandez has made 28 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three goals. Chelsea did not put a timeframe on his return, though Argentina will be hoping the former Benfica star is fit to feature in the Copa America, which begins in late June.
The Blues sit ninth in the table, though they do have games in hand on all of their rivals for European qualification.
Mauricio Pochettino's team take on Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday, with fixtures against Tottenham, West Ham Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth to follow.
Philadelphia Union v Real Salt Lake: Curtin keen to maintain tough reputation
Jim Curtin is keen to see the Philadelphia Union retain their reputation as a tough team to play against, with his side still unbeaten this season ahead of Saturday's visit of Real Salt Lake.
The Union sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with three wins and four draws so far this term, their latest stalemate coming by a 2-2 scoreline against Atlanta United last time out.
While Curtin was somewhat disappointed to see the Union's three-match winning streak ended in Georgia, he is pleased by the resilience they have shown ahead of their return to Subaru Park.
"Whether people in the public think we're good or think we're bad, they will at least say we're tough to play against," Curtin said.
"I think that unequivocally across the board, there's not a coach or general manager or fan in this league that would say we're an easy team to deal with and play against.
"Part of that is not losing, finding ways to turn losses into ties, ties into wins, and we'll look to try to continue to do that and really protect our home field."
Philadelphia face a tough test this weekend, though, against a Salt Lake team currently flying high in third in the Western Conference.
Pablo Mastroeni's men are unbeaten in their last four games, producing their best performance of 2024 to date last time out as they thrashed the Chicago Fire 4-0 on the road.
"I'm so excited about what we can do as a group, as players and coaches, and the onus is on us to continue to get better and really push this thing forward," Mastroeni said after that win.
"I think we've established a decent standard, and we know where we are at our best and where we are lacking, but it's testament to the work the guys are doing during the week."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre
Uhre scored the Union's first goal as they fought back from two goals down to draw in Atlanta.
He has four goal involvements in MLS play this term (three goals, one assist), a tally only matched by Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza among his Union team-mates.
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Arango scored twice against the Fire last week and has now been involved in at least one goal in four straight regular-season road games, equalling the longest such streak in Real Salt Lake's history.
Might he break new ground at Subaru Park?
MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN
The Union's only win in 12 all-time meetings with Real Salt Lake was a 4-1 home victory when the teams last met at Subaru Park in May 2018 (six draws, five losses). This will be the sides' first meeting on any ground since June 2019.
While the visitors are unbeaten in their last five matches (three wins, two draws), this could be their toughest test to date.
Philadelphia have only lost one of their last 41 regular-season home matches (28 wins, 12 draws), including going unbeaten through their last 16 (nine wins, seven draws), a run dating back over a year.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union – 57.8%
Real Salt Lake – 17.3%
Draw – 24.9%
New York City v Charlotte FC: Cushing wants more from in-form hosts
Nick Cushing is pushing for more as New York City bid for a third successive victory against Charlotte FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
NYCFC are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings after back-to-back 2-0 home wins over the New England Revolution and D.C. United, having gone four unbeaten (two wins, two draws).
Their consecutive wins have come after a run of just two victories in their previous 10 (three draws, five losses), but Cushing does not want his team to stop there.
"I think the three-game run is something that we have a huge desire to achieve," Cushing said.
"I said after the game in the locker room, it has been a long time since we've gone back-to-back. It's been too long, really, since we went back-to-back, so it's good to enjoy that after the game.
"Now we have the opportunity to do a three-game run. We have to make sure we do that before we think about anything else."
Charlotte have gone the opposite way in recent weeks, losing two of their last three games to leave them behind New York on goal difference.
Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith acknowledges they need to show more in the forward areas after averaging just one goal per game in 2024.
"That's certainly an area where we need to be better, I think we all know that. We've been working on it for the last three or four weeks," Smith said.
"I think defensively we've been really solid. In terms of our creativity, we've had some big chances that we haven't taken.
"Last week [in a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United] there were some moments we didn't take as well, technically we just failed on that."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York City – Santiago Rodriguez
Rodriguez recorded a goal and an assist in NYCFC's win over D.C. last week and now has four goals and one assist this season, with all of those involvements coming at home.
Since the start of last season, 14 (seven goals, seven assists) of Rodriguez's 16 goal contributions in regular-season matches have come at home.
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Charlotte have failed to score in two of their last three games, and a lack of creativity has been a theme of their campaign to date.
Captain Westwood leads all Charlotte players for chances created this season, with 13, and he could be key if they are to hit the goal trail.
MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK CITY WIN
Charlotte are unbeaten in five all-time meetings with New York (four wins, one draw), including a 1-0 win over them in the teams' season opener on February 24.
The Crown are the only team NYCFC have faced more than once in MLS play and never defeated, but that may just change this week.
New York have won back-to-back matches to nil, a major defensive upturn after they managed just one clean sheet in their previous 10. Charlotte, meanwhile, have only earned one point from four road games in MLS this year, losing their last three in a row.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York City – 51.8%
Charlotte FC – 21.1%
Draw – 27.1%
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