Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella came in for big fees, before the final days of the transfer window saw Chelsea spend 75 million pounds ($87 million) on French center back Wesley Fofana and then bring in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona to plug a gap in its striker options. Aubameyang cited playing under Tuchel before - at Borussia Dortmund - as a benefit of the move and was handed a debut against Dinamo. That proved to be Tuchel's last game in charge, perhaps leaving Aubameyang's long-term status uncertain.
That will depend who comes in to replace Tuchel. British media has already linked Graham Potter, currently manager of in-form Premier League club Brighton, and Mauricio Pochettino, with the vacancy.
Potter has no real experience of handling a squad of star players but is highly regarded for his tactical astuteness and entertaining style of play. Pochettino has experience of overseeing a locker room of egos - he was recently coach of a Paris Saint-Germain team containing Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar - and has been out of work since parting ways with the French champions in July.