It would seem to me that Chelsea were having an excellent transfer window - getting all their business done early and signing up some hot young talent.

Then deadline day came and somehow it all feels like we have missed an opportunity. Accepting that we have already spent a hell of a lot this summer it was nonetheless surprising that we did not seek to add depth a Centre Forward.

We are now left with only one 'proven' central striker in Fernando Torres - a player who to date has not managed to evidence that he remains an elite striker. Danny Sturridge wants to play through the middle but Chelsea seem unsure about this. Victor Moses 'may' be able to play there but again he is probably only a Sturridge-esque sticky plaster for the position.

Given these facts it seems strange that we havent signed another striker. We are playing a risky game as we are relying on Torres remaining both fit and on form. There was talk of landing Remy - but that seemed only if the deal to sell Studge was on. So why are we prepared to go into the season with this strike-force?

I have a theory.

The club recognises that we need an upgrade at Centre Forward. Signing an elite striker would however mean demoting Torres to the bench. Fine from a football perspective but perhaps not so sensible economically. Why?

1) We continue to see a fall in the value of Torres - restricting our ability to use him as a method of investing in a new elite striker at a reduced cost (by using the funds from his sale)

2) The addition of an elite striker in this window would be very expensive and perhaps added to our existing spend - a step too far.

So this would rule out signing an elite striker this window. This assumes we intend to sell Torres next summer (after he has had a decent season) and can manage the books in a manner to facilitate an elite purchase next summer.

This would also perhaps explain why we havent spent a smaller amount of cash on a back-up striker. We presumably dont want to be stuck with dead-wood next year when Lukaku returns (which if we retain Studge would mean we have Elite Striker, Backup Striker, Torres, Sturridge and Lukaku at that point).

It would not be a surprise to see Studge run down his contract this year and then leave and Torres be sold. This would then free us to sign two new strikers in that window - giving us the ideal number of 3.

The rest of the extensive signings this summer would have then had a chance to bed in and we would have a much more stable team capable of moving forward to challenge for major honours.

Given the transitional nature of Chelsea at present - I feel this hypothesis also fits. If the club genuinely has lowered its expectations (and I sense by the decision to award RDM a 2 year deal - it has), then putting off the striker purchase until next summer is no problem.

Anyway this is just one way of interpreting the situation - In Emenalo we trust