The subtext to Chelsea's £220 million summer spending spree is Frank Lampard's judgement that many of his existing squad were not at the required level.
Lampard will be satisfied the Blues started their much-anticipated Premier League campaign with a 3-1 win at Brighton, but if anything the players who have been asked to respond to the new arrivals only really reinforced their manager's view.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was given an unexpected opportunity in a No. 10 role as Chelsea shifted to 4-2-3-1, a formation change expected to accommodate Kai Havertz on his debut following a £71m move from Bayer Leverkusen.