The eyebrow-raising, last-minute deals which saw Marcos Alonso and David Luiz sign for Chelsea on deadline day had an element of desperation about them.
It's clear that neither player was anywhere near the top of Antonio Conte's shopping list -- if indeed they were on it all when the Italian first drew up his plans to revitalise the flagging squad following his appointment in April.
Having paid Fiorentina £23 million for 25-year-old left-back Alonso, a player whose unspectacular career to date includes stints at Bolton and Sunderland, Chelsea then signed 29-year-old centre-back David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain for £32m.