Chelsea Premier League preview: Will Frank Lampard and big-spending Blues live up to the hype?

They have spent big on some incredible talent, and now, after a season of transition, Chelsea fans expect improvement to accelarate.

It is hard to work out who had the better summer - a young and restless Bryan Adams 51 years ago, or Frank Lampard and the Chelsea transfer hierarchy in 2020.

Adding a multitude of exciting signings to an already young, vibrant squad has raised expectations tenfold at Stamford Bridge. Last season was seen as a free hit for Lampard, taking the reins amid a transfer ban, but the rookie coach guided the Blues into the top four and an FA Cup final appearance.

Champions League qualification was achieved without their talisman for so long Eden Hazard, with embryonic talents emerging such as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Christian Pulisic to play a major role. Lampard also put faith in veteran Olivier Giroud, who enjoyed an Indian summer up front, but it remains to be seen if N'Golo Kante will play a key part in Chelsea's upcoming campaign, having been seen his place in the first team become far from secure.

Chelsea identified who they wanted and moved quickly. Their recruitment so far simply cannot have gone better. All of that money recouped from Hazard's sale has gone, and some, but the talent they have brought in makes their dealings look like money very well spent indeed.

It seems like an eternity ago when Hakim Ziyech's move was confirmed, who at under £34m represents a snip, providing a perfect replacement for Willian. Getting one of Europe's most exciting and versatile young forwards in Timo Werner for under £50m is also a steal in the modern world. Werner has consistently broken goalscoring records at all levels in his career and will offer Lampard a totally different dimension.

Chelsea needed defensive reinforcements. There is plenty of young talent in there - Fikayo Tomori, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen - but they lack a central defender to guide them. That is where Thiago Silva comes in. His defensive qualities, coupled with his ball-playing ability, make him a good fit for Lampard's side but what should be even more useful is his experience. The free transfer, even at Silva's age, was a no-brainer, as was the capture of Ben Chilwell - someone the Blues have coveted for some time.

The piece de resistance took a lot longer to secure, but with Kai Havertz on board, who became the most expensive German import of all time, Chelsea had the final piece to an exhilarating-looking attack in place, for what could be many, many years.

Out with the old was the plan for Chelsea as they made way for all these young arrivals. Pedro's time had come, having been very successful in England, and he headed for Roma.

There were efforts to keep Willian on board, but with Chelsea only willing to offer a two-year deal to the 32-year-old Brazilian, Willian opted to move across London to Arsenal, where he could secure a lucrative three-year contract.

Most of the transfer business Chelsea will be looking to do for the rest of the window will be trying to shift some of the plentiful players surplus to requirements, taking home big wages, at the club.

Emerson, Victor Moses, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Michy Batshuayi are among a long list of players Chelsea are willing to offload, potentially for cut price deals.

One area of concern for Chelsea is the goalkeeper position, with faith Kepa Arrizabalaga on the wane. Rennes' Edouard Mendy is one stopper on the Blues' radar.

Lampard experimented with his formation on numerous occasions last season, opting to go with a 3-5-2 system, as he did against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final win, or a 4-3-3 system.

With so much attacking talent to fit in, Lampard may be reluctant to go with the more defensive approach - when you pay the money, the players will expect game-time.

Havertz can play anywhere across the attack, as he did towards the end of the last Bundesliga season for Bayer Leverkusen, but he prefers a deeper role in midfield. His inclusion could mean Mount's game-time is more limited, with speculation rife Mount is already starting to get disgruntled.

But with so much versatility in the side, Mount and his team-mates can expect minutes, in a variety of positions, giving Lampard so many options in terms of shape and formation.

Lampard was expected to get several seasons to find his feet in the dugout, and slowly improve Chelsea, but that was before he signed the best two players from the Bundesliga, Brazil's captain and further options out wide.

With Manchester United struggling to bring in their top targets, Liverpool looking unlikely to add many fresh faces, Manchester City being reasonably quiet on the transfer front and Arsenal and Tottenham seemingly having nothing like the funds at Chelsea's disposal, there is no doubting whose squad has improved the most.

Should their new arrivals live up to the hype, there is no reason why Chelsea cannot challenge for the title, ahead of schedule. A third-placed finish should be their minimum target.