Jose Mourinho said he knew he would win the League after he signing Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas for Chelsea in 2015.
The Special One was concise and ruthless in getting the men he thought could win the Premier League at an affordable price.
Now Frank Lampard is making similarly quick moves in the transfer market as he hopes to turn his young pretenders into title contenders.
Hakim Ziyech was signed in February for a thrifty fee in the region of £35million, a bargain in today’s market.
And the Moroccan’s arrival has been boosted by the fact Chelsea appear to have pipped Liverpool to the signing of Timo Werner.
Lampard knows, much like his former boss five years before, that his side needs goals and the board have backed their manager and have signed the players he wanted.
Chelsea’s board have not always backed their coaches in the transfer window, just ask Antonio Conte who wanted Romelu Lukaku but ended up with Alvaro Morata. Poor guy.
Not since Jose’s second summer in his second spell has a manager received the kind of loyalty that is being shown to Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer.
With Ziyech and Werner secured, Chelsea’s next target appears to be Ben Chilwell – Lampard’s number one defensive target.
While the two forwards will undoubtedly help going forward, Chelsea’s defence will also need bolstering if The Blues are serious about challenging Man City and Liverpool at the top of the table.
Chelsea have conceded 39 goals in 29 games – 18 more than Liverpool – and Lampard sees the England left-back as the answer to the issues at the back.
Back in 2015 Mourinho’s signings effectively won Chelsea the League with Costa scoring 20 goals in 26 games, while Fabregas finished the season with 18 Premier League assists.
Chelsea were trophy-less the season before but won a domestic double after the duo’s arrival – winning the League Cup before securing the title.
Costa and Fabregas, along with 2015’s PFA Player of the Year, Eden Hazard, turned Mourinho’s men from contenders into winners.
This summer Chelsea’s decisiveness helped to secure the signing of Werner, who’s first choice was to join Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
His release fee was around the £50million mark, Liverpool wanted to wait for that number to go down but The Blues wasted no time in swooping for one of Europe’s hottest forwards.
In fact no player has been involved in more goals in the Bundesliga this season – 25 goals and eight assists – than Germany’s forward, not even Jadon Sancho.
Chelsea’s young squad may not be ready for a title push like the side of 2015 but these early moves in the transfer market not only show Roman Abramovich is happy to dig into his pockets, but he is happy to spend big on the players Lampard wants.
With the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham all having successful breakthrough seasons, Lampard will have a decision on his hands as to who stays and who goes in the summer.
But after a disastrously fruitless January transfer window, Chelsea’s manager must be thankful the club are making moves to improve his squad.
Chelsea are approaching their targets in the right manner this summer, much like they did in 2015.
Werner and Ziyech might not be enough for a title challenge in the 2021 season but the signs are that this might just be the beginning of Abramovich’s spending this summer.
The man who has bought his way to five Premier League titles seems hellbent on giving Lampard the chance to lead Chelsea to number six.
And with the transfer ban gone, he is wasting no time in doing so.