Chelsea have been punished by FIFA following a three-year investigation into their signings of players under the age of 18.
The Blues have been banned from registering players for two consecutive transfer windows for 29 incidences of breaching article 19, which relates to the transfer of players aged under 18. They’ve also been fined £460,000.
That means as it stands they will be unable to sign players this summer or in January next year.
It throws the club’s plans into chaos, with major doubts surrounding the future of star man Eden Hazard.
Hazard is out of contract in the summer of 2020, and Chelsea won’t now be able to sign a replacement for the Belgian before that.
It means they could keep him at the end of the season, but if he doesn’t sign an extention, their most valuable asset could then walk out of the club on a free transfer.
But there is a way Chelsea could still sign players this summer.
Other clubs slapped with similar bans to the Blues have brought themselves breathing space by appealing FIFA’s ruling.
Prior instances of similar infractions have seen the sides involved appeal against the penalties, delaying the implementation of a registration ban and allowing them to sign players.
Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have both been charged by FIFA in recent seasons, and have appealed the sentences passed down.
Real got their two-window ban cut in half, while Atletico took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
That lengthy process delayed the implementation of their transfer ban, allowing the club to draft in new names.
And Chelsea appear to have opted for a similar tactic in a bid to get new names on board.