Blues owner declares league is top quality

£4.25BILLION. That was the record-breaking sum Chelsea's owners stumped up to acquire the club in 2022. For context, it was nearly 14 times what Newcastle United’s consortium paid to take over the relegation-threatened Magpies a few months previously.

- By CIARAN KELLY

Fast forward to the present day and these sides are now level on points ahead of a heavyweight showdown at St James’ Park. It is not quite a winner-takes-all clash, but Newcastle could land a huge psychological blow in the race for the top five by defeating their rivals on Sunday.

That would be a sobering thought for those at the top at Chelsea following a £1.2bn spend on new signings since their buyout. After all, unlike those at the top at Newcastle, Chelsea's owners inherited a side who had just finished third in the Premier League; who had won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup; who had reached the finals of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League. To think that was seen as a fairly standard season in the Abramovich era.