Chelsea have spent big but glass seems half empty as transfer window closes

At almost exactly the moment Timo Werner was slotting in his hat-trick goal for RB Leipzig, Chelsea, who sold the striker last month, were throwing away a lead at Southampton.

Unfortunate coincidences like Tuesday’s tend to stalk the London club, a place where footballers move in and out frequently with a tendency to up their form after departing Stamford Bridge.

The list is long and notorious. It’s ten years this summer since Kevin de Bruyne was first shipped off the premises. It’s nine seasons since Mohamed Salah was signed, only to be marginalised and then let go.

Chelsea may not suffer the same enduring regret over Werner even if, two seasons on from joining Chelsea from Leipzig, he has made his return journey to east Germany look like a ticket to immediate contentment.

Werner has four goals from four matches since rejoining his former employer, although, admittedly, Tuesday’s three within 24 first-half minutes were in an 8-0 Cup win over fourth-tier Teutonia Ottensen.

Werner may come to miss the cut-and-thrust of the Premier League in time, although he will be relieved not to be part of the finger-pointing at Chelsea that starts with the manager Thomas Tuchel.

After Chelsea conceded a lead for the third time in five Premier League matches, losing 2-1 at Southampton, Tuchel repeatedly called the performance “soft”. He told the players, via a fiery post-match briefing after the second defeat of the short campaign so far: “Just toughen up. It’s too easy to push us off track.”

Yet plenty of hard cash has been invested by owners who only bought the club in May, a sanctions-driven purchase because of previous boss Roman Abramovich’s perceived links to Russia’s government.

Southampton players celebrate after beating