Why July 1 has became one of Chelsea's most anticipated dates in some time

With Manchester City completing two high-profile signings within days and weeks of the football season finishing, expectations of fans were immediately doubled.

Chelsea fans are never far away from someone asking ‘Why haven’t we signed anyone yet?’ or the classic ‘We’re going to finish 10th again!’
The Blues are yet to officially complete any transfers yet, but reports have suggested that deals to sign Willy Caballero and Tiemoue Bakayoko are very close. Romelu Lukaku and Juventus’ Alex Sandro are also thought to be targets for Italian head coach Antonio Conte.

Many have suggested that the club’s incoming sponsors Nike are holding up the deal which is not only plausible but a great marketing tool for the global brand to have.
It was made official during the latter stages of 2016 that the club were ending their partnership with Adidas. The Premier League champions brought themselves out of their contract with their previous shirt sponsors and clinched a big-money deal with Nike, who themselves have produced some eye-catching kits over the years.

The new kit deal, which is the largest commercial deal in the club’s history, is thought to be worth around £60 million a year for the next 15 years and importantly, the partnership begins in July. Which has led all signs to point towards 1 July 2017 as a key date for the Blues.

What to expect in July?
Several reports have already suggested that Chelsea are preparing to announce their new signings in July.

Shirt sales are always a talking point among supporters at any level of football, but even for a club like Chelsea, who will have no problems selling them, especially a brand new kit, donning the famous Nike ‘Swoosh’ fitted with the golden Premier League badges, a sign of champions.
In a time where social media has largely dictated the way that the clubs announce their transfers, Nike find themselves in a perfect position to kick start their partnership alongside the Premier League champions with a bang.

You only need to look back to the way that Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United was announced. The hashtag ‘#Pogback’ was trending on Twitter, through Adidas he had teamed up grime artist Stormzy, it was quite the performance that must have taken a considerable amount of planning and preparation.

Many considered the whole thing quite over the top and dramatic, and it’s unlikely that Chelsea will follow suit with something similar. But one thing is clear, the increased anticipation of transfers only leads to the increased demand from supporters.

Why do Nike need the air time?
Yes, I can hear you all asking the same question. Well, the truth is they don’t. They’re arguably the biggest sports company in the world. They sponsor some of the biggest athletes in world sport. LeBron James, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods are just a few names to reel off.

Speaking hypothetically: Chelsea announce the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Everton, he’s unveiled donning the new Nike kit. The move to bring the Belgian striker back is likely to be a big-money deal if it goes through. Chelsea, Lukaku and Nike get a lot of air time.

His (hypothetical) arrival will undoubtedly boost shirt sales. One thing you have to ask yourselves, why would Chelsea announce a player, holding or wearing a Chelsea shirt (as it’s accustomed to do nowadays) sponsored by Adidas, when their partnership with the club is days away from coming to an end?

Several images of kits that have been ‘leaked’ online, in particular, those shown above that are reportedly already on sale in the United States.
One thing is for sure, July is set to be a very busy month for Chelsea as they look to expand their squad and build for the Champions League and a title defence.

Signings will come in time, just like the new kit so Chelsea fans must remain patient, they will get their reward. - Read Sport