Chelsea are making plenty of headlines during the summer transfer window.
It was assumed that the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic would squeeze the brakes on transfer spending in the Premier League, but try telling that to the Blues.
Having been slapped with a transfer ban during Frank Lampard's first season in charge, it seems as though the club has been saving its pennies for a spending splurge before his second campaign.
Chelsea's spending splurge
In fact, the west Londoners have clearly been plotting in the boardroom for some time with the arrivals of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner being sown up in February and June respectively.
Ziyech was poached from Ajax for a fee in the region of €40 million, whereas Werner was seemingly snatched from Liverpool's grasp when the club activated his £47.5 million release clause.
And after two months of putting major announcements on ice, the Chelsea spending machine cranked back into gear this week with the long-touted arrival of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City.
More spending to come?
Astonishingly, though, that £50 million purchase doesn't appear to be their last with Kai Havertz closing in on the most expensive deal of all, while Thiago Silva is set to sign on a free transfer.
As a result, it should come as little surprise that Chelsea are being viewed as one of the rising forces in European football and perhaps contenders for the Premier League title once again.
If nothing else, their summer spending has brought success in the overall value of their squad and data gurus Transfermarkt now rank the Blues as the sixth most lucrative team in the world.
Most valuable squads in the world
The Blues entered the summer as the world's ninth most valuable squad, but with Ziyech, Werner and Chilwell bringing a combined transfer estimate of £129.6 million, they have risen three places.
Chelsea's value now sits at a dizzying £763.65 million, whereas they totalled £634.05 million beforehand, which elevates them above Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and PSG.
Pretty impressive stuff, but we know you're curious about the list in its entirety, so wait no longer and check out the full top 20 down below to get a real idea of where Chelsea stand on the global stage.
20. AC Milan - £352.08 million
Slowly but surely, AC Milan are on the road to recovery and although finishing in 20th isn't anything to write home about, it still places them above the likes of AS Roma, Lyon, Ajax and Lazio.
19. Bayer Leverkusen - £365.99 million
Chelsea could pull a massive Jenga stick from Bayer's tower of valuation by snapping up Havertz this summer with the German starlet valued at a dizzying £72.90 million.
18. Everton - £369.95 million
Everton fans are right to feel disappointed with their recent Premier League finishes when you consider the amount of money they've spent and clearly, the amount they're hanging on to.
17. Leicester City - £373.32 million
Just imagine how highly Leicester could have finished if they still had Chilwell and Harry Maguire on their books. James Maddison is now their most valuable asset at £49.50 million.
16. RB Leipzig - £414.25 million
It's credit to Leipzig's rise as a real force in the Bundesliga and Champions League that losing Werner to the team that sparked this article still seems them finish pretty highly here.
15. Napoli - £496.35 million
Gennaro Gattuso's side are terrifyingly close to another Serie A team we'll talk about in a second with Kalidou Koulibaly, whose been linked with Manchester City, topping their price sheet.
14. Borussia Dortmund - £523.85 million
The foundations of BVB's half-a-billion valuation are, as you would expect, built on the fact they have two of the world's best young players: Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland.
13. Juventus - £533.61 million
Just in case you think too much is being made about the problems in Turin, bear in mind that the Old Lady's squad is only the world's 13th most valuable despite boasting Cristiano Ronaldo.
12. Arsenal - £539.42 million
Yup, that's right, Arsenal apparently have a more valuable squad than Juventus and that has a lot to do with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being priced at £50.40 million for his superb form in England.
11. Inter Milan - £555.12 million
Inter are another rising team on the continent and if they can keep their hands on Antonio Conte, then Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez's price tags will continue to hike.
10. Tottenham Hotspur - £635.00 million
Perhaps Jose Mourinho shouldn't moan too much about his resources at Spurs, after all, with Transfermarkt slapping valuations of over £50 million on Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
9. Manchester United - £682.72 million
The only way is up for a United side in which Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood will continue to grow their transfer valuations.
8. Atletico Madrid - £687.87 million
Give or take their Anfield antics, Atletico looked to be on the slide during the 2019/20 campaign, but the dizzying £72 million price tags on Jan Oblak and Joao Felix keep them safely in the top ten.
7. Paris Saint-Germain - £714.11 million
There's perhaps no bigger compliment to Chelsea's bulking up on quality players than the fact their squad is ranked as more valuable than a club with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on their books.
6. Chelsea - £763.65 million
So, here we are: the main attraction. The top five is within touching distance for Lampard if they continue to spend big, though N'Golo Kante continues to be their most valuable squad member.
5. Bayern Munich - £821.30 million
It's staggering to think that Bayern won the Champions League with an XI that didn't exceed £100 million, but their stunning performances have made their squad worth over eight times that.
4. Barcelona - £892.98 million
The fact Barcelona have finished above Bayern shows you that transfer valuations aren't everything and that having £70 million more in assets doesn't protect you from an 8-2 obliteration.
3. Liverpool - £920.61 million
Despite being Premier League champions and both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah's valuations exceeding £100 million, the Reds do not have the most valuable squad in England.
2. Manchester City - £964.51 million
It's pretty scary to think that the Citizens could field a squad worth more than £1 billion if they get their hands on Lionel Messi, but even the GOAT wouldn't top Raheem Sterling's £115.20 million valuation.
1. Real Madrid - £971.55 million
Considering Real crashed out of the Champions League in the round of 16 and great swathes of their squad are ageing, it's a tad surprising to see Los Blancos boasting the world's most valuable squad.
Eden Hazard, despite a dire first season in Spain, boasts the largest valuation at £72 million.
GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says
Chelsea are well and truly back at the top table of European football. On paper, at least.
Look, I can barely do long division, never mind pretend to be an accountant, but I don't think I'm alone in being surprised by Chelsea's hefty spending irregardless of their recent transfer ban.
Perhaps we shouldn't be shocked, though, when they have Roman Abramovich pumping money into the club and there's such a strong desire for them to shatter City and Liverpool's duopoly.
I think there's still a long way to go before they can challenge for the Premier League and Champions League titles again, but Lampard now has some enviable tools to plot a roadmap.
From where I'm standing, I wouldn't be surprised if Lampard has his hands on the Premier League trophy again this side of 2023.