Having won the 2004-05 Premier League title at a canter, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho seemed determined to build upon that triumph during the pre-season break.
While the likes of Mikael Forssell, Scott Parker, Mateja Kezman, Alexey Smertin and Jiri Jarosik were all allowed to depart Stamford Bridge, Mourinho parted with £34m of Roman Abramovich's fortune to recruit Shaun Wright-Phillips, Asier del Horno and Lassana Diarra.
However, it was 10 years ago today that the Blues made their biggest signing of the summer in the form of Michael Essien, who ended up costing a club-record fee for the West Londoners.
Chelsea had actually chased the Lyon midfielder for a number of weeks, having seen bids of £10m, £16.75m, £18m, £21m and 21m plus Tiago all rejected by their French counterparts. A £24.4m agreement was eventually reached, which eclipsed the £24m that the Premier League side had paid for Didier Drogba 12 months earlier.
Speaking about his latest signing, Mourinho said: "I wanted him because I was looking for a player to finish what is a very strong squad in every position.
"We believe he is the best we can get for his position and he can play anywhere in midfield. I know the questions will be around the amount of money Chelsea had to spend to bring him here but that is the reality of modern football.
"Big teams only want big players, big players are in big clubs, big clubs want to keep their big players. The player is here and we think we have a really strong squad with a lot of space for improvement because everyone is very young."
The 22-year-old added: "I wanted to come to the Premiership and now I am very happy. I am in love with the Premiership. I am pleased to be with Chelsea.
"It is going to be tough but I am ready to fight for a place in the team. I don't think it will be a problem to adapt because I speak the language and I have some friends in the team."
The Ghanaian was an instant hit alongside Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard in the midfield as he made 31 appearances to help Chelsea retain the Premier League title.
In total, Essien was on Chelsea's books for eight years, although one of those seasons (2012-13) was spent on loan with Mourinho at Real Madrid.
He departed permanently for AC Milan in 2014, having won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups and one League Cup from his 256 appearances, which yielded a return of 25 goals.
Liam Apicella
