It is probably safe to say that Chelsea had one of the more interesting winter transfer windows after being heavily linked with the like of Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch, before eventually securing the signings of Olivier Giroud and Emmerson Palmieri on the final day.

Earlier in the window, the Blues also swooped for out of favour Everton midfielder Ross Barkley in a move that raised more than a few eyebrows, with the Englishman making just one FA Cup appearance for the west London club since his arrival from Merseyside.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's rivals were breaking the bank with Manchester United showing a massive sign of intent by bringing in Alexis Sanchez, Liverpool made Virgil Van Dijk the most expensive defender in the world, Arsenal signed one of the hottest properties in Europe in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Manchester City added even more valuable depth to their backline with the signing of the fantastic Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao.

It was almost strange to see how Chelsea went about their business in this window, considering their history for going after the best players in the world, regardless of the price that they may demand.

Since billionaire Roman Abromavich took over the club in 2003, Chelsea's managers may have been terribly short of job security, but never of cash, and so the recent January window stands out like a bit of a sore thumb.

Now Gary Neville has delivered a scathing analysis of Chelsea's recent transfer activity, believing the club have fallen behind their rivals in the market, feeling that Conte is far too set in his ways and that it could well come back to bite the club in the future.

"Chelsea, historically, they’re not in for the players City and United are in for now," the former Manchester United defender said on Sky Sports' debate show.

“You could move Chelsea into that next pack, because they’re not competing with the Manchester clubs at this moment in time.

“I look at these signings, and I look at that transfer window, and I think that could take a couple of years to undo. It’s so geared to a system, the five at the back.

“If something happens to Conte... it’s unlikely that he’ll be there [beyond the end of the season]. A new manager has got to pick up that squad with that system.

“You look at those players, Giroud is there to play as a single striker, Zappacosta wing back, Marcos Alonso wing back, David Luiz one of a back three.

“You think, it’s tailored to that three as a back. You have to unravel quite a lot system-wise, there’s a lot of risk in those signings.”

Antonio Conte's side look set to relinquish their Premier League title to a rampant Manchester City side, who are flying at the top a whopping 15 points ahead of second place Manchester United and 18 points ahead of a stuttering Chelsea. It remains to be seen whether or not Conte will make it to the end of the season.