Chelsea’s owners will not demand instant results following their astonishing spending spree during January and intend to give Graham Potter time to mould a winning team.

The £106.8m signing of Enzo Fernández just before the transfer window shut on Tuesday night saw Chelsea’s spending under the new Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership surpass £500m since last summer and raised questions regarding how the club will comply with Financial Fair Play regulations. Chelsea have made 16 permanent signings and added two loanees to their bulging squad in the past two windows.

The club have been innovating in an attempt to meet FFP rules. They have handed out eight-and-a-half year deals to Fernández and Mykhailo Mudryk, allowing them to use the accounting practice of amortisation to balance the books by spreading the cost of big fees over the length of a contract. Uefa has responded by changing the regulations from this summer, with clubs limited to spreading fees over a five-year period, and Chelsea are aware that they are at the start of an extensive rebuild.

There is an excitement at Stamford Bridge following a month that saw the west Londoners bring in a host of highly-promising young players, but there is recognition that a patient approach will be required while Potter works on getting his ideas across to his squad.

Chelsea, who are 10th in the Premier League and out of both domestic cups after a disappointing run, are prepared for the possibility of missing out on the Champions League. The extensive spending has not placed additional pressure on Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel last September. The hierarchy plans to give Potter a full pre-season with the team and Chelsea are preparing for a clearout of their underperforming stars this summer.