Chelsea Transfer Rumors: Will Chelsea Sign Anyone?

Yesterday Chelsea learned that they had lost out on signing Argentinian midfielder Javier Pastore to French side PSG. Many thought that the 22-year-old would be the first big name signing for new coach Andre Villa-Boas. Instead he joins an ever growing list of players who have instead opted for other clubs.

When Andre Villa-Boas arrived in June there were many highly touted names being linked to the club. Neymar, Sergio Aguero, Falcao, Joao Moutinho and Luka Modric have all been connected with rumors suggesting a possible move to Stamford Bridge.

Neymar has publicly said he preferred Real Madrid. Sergio Aguero chose Manchester City. Falcao signed a new contract with Porto. And Moutinho and Modric's respective clubs have declared "hands-off warnings."

What this all amounts to is a question of whether or not Villa-Boas has the ability to sign the players he wants.

Fans of the club have been split on how the Portuguese boss has been handling this transfer window. He is obviously aware how deep Abramovich's wallet can go and that he essentially has the ability to pay any player whatever they want.

But even with this knowledge he and the club have seemed to tread a very fine fiscal line. The atmosphere in the boardroom is much different than in January, when they splashed 50 million pounds for Fernando Torres.

The signing of new players is important for a big club like Chelsea. Beyond the fact that they need to continue to grow and build as a team, they also need to be relevant in the media and attract fan interest.

The signing of Robinho by Manchester City back in 2008 was as much a way to improve the team on the field as it was to bring awareness to the new identity of the club.

The £200 million investment by the Abu Dhabi investment group needed to get their return and payouts from the Premier League and Champions League come no where near that figure. Signing players is as much about branding as it is about competing.

Most fans would not abandon their club just because they will be watching the same team they saw last year. But when last year's squad was not enough to win and others seem to be improving, Villa-Boas comes under the greatest scrutiny from the most faithful of followers.

Manchester United have signed Ashley Young. Liverpool have picked up Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing. Manchester City got Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero.

Villa-Boas is well aware that these moves are being made while he stands stagnant. But his timid approach may be more calculated estimation than tepid indecision.

If you were to map out the Chelsea preseason, you would see an exponential rise in play from game to game. Each time they take the pitch they seem more fluid and understand the AVB system better than the game before.

Their last game was also the best of their preseason and against their most difficult opponent, Aston Villa. Not to mention they are also the only top Premier League side that has kept clean sheets in all of their preseason games.

Young players such as Josh McEachran, Daniel Sturridge and Slobodan Rajkovich have shown immense promise. Yossi Benayoun and Paulo Ferreira have seemed to find their stride. And the oft criticized aging legs of Drogba, Anelka and Lampard are as strong as ever.

The way the team is growing there is really no need for any major signings. Few (if any) would drastically improve their chances. Don't forget that the signing of a star will require one that is already at the club to sit the bench.

Over a week ago, Chief Executive Ron Gourlay stated that the club was expected to make two signings within the next eight to 10 days. Pastore or Aguero were expected to be at least one of the two. But now with both off the market, the speculation over who it will be has become as vague as ever.

Romelu Lukaku, Luka Modric and Kaka are still all available and would be great signings for the Blue's.

But the question of whether their signings are really necessary can only be judged with time. Right now I am confident that this squad with this coach has the capabilities of fixing the very few problems they had last year—and win the league.

Perhaps more is necessary to find European glory, but issues like that can be sorted out in the winter.

There is exactly one month left in the European transfer window. It is generally this time when teams are the busiest and most deals get done.

Chelsea have already insisted that they will make one last bid for Modric this coming week. Whether he signs or not will probably have little impact on Villa-Boas' attitude. Because to be honest, the transfer market isn't really for the teams.

It's for the fans to get excited about the next season, and more importantly, for the media to sell more newspapers.