There weren't exactly great expectations on Chelsea at the beginning of the season.

The Blues' summer transfer ban meant that new manager Frank Lampard had to operate with a hand tied behind his back in the summer, with the club banned from making transfers.

Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic did arrive on deals that were negotiated before the ban was put in place, but other than that Lampard was forced to trust in several young stars who have come through the club's academy.

Luckily for him, some of those players have proven to be more than good enough for both the Premier League and Champions League level.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

The likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James have all shone as Lampard has trusted his young players, and even though their form has often been a little up and down it is possible to see what the manager is trying to achieve.

Chelsea currently sit fourth in the Premier League, a little adrift from the sides above them but still with a great chance of finishing in the top four.

The Londoners will take on Bayern Munich in the last-16 of the Champions League in February, and begin their FA Cup campaign on Sunday with a third round tie against Nottingham Forest.

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(Image: IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)

And in the latest of our spotrac series, we take a look at the highest earners at Stamford Bridge this season, as well as the loaned out players still on the payroll.

Chelsea 2019/20 payroll - all data taken from spotrac

Kepa Arrizabalaga, N'Golo Kante - (annual salary: £7.8m / weekly salary: £150,000)

Christian Pulisic - (£7.54m / £145,000)

Willian - (£6.24m / £120,000)

Tiemoue Bakayoko, Jorginho, Olivier Giroud - (£5.72m / £110,000)

Mateo Kovacic - (£5.547m / £106,673)

Marcos Alonso, Ross Barkley, Pedro, Antonio Rudiger, Danny Drinkwater - (£5.2m / £100,000)

(Image: Manuel Queimadelos Alonso)

Cesar Azpilicueta, Michy Batshuayi - (£4.68m / £90,000)

Baba Rahman - (4.472m /£86,000)

Andreas Christensen - (£4.16m / £80,000)

Mason Mount, Victor Moses - (£3.9m / £75,000)

Davide Zappacosta - (£3.64m - £70,000)

Tammy Abraham - (£2.6m / £50,000)

Emerson Palmieri - (£2.184m / £42,000)

Kurt Zouma - (£2.08m / £40,000)

(Image: Getty Images)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - (£1.82m / £35,000)

Willy Caballero - (£1.56m / £30,000)

Marco van Ginkel - (£1.45m / £27,885)

Isaiah Brown, Kenedy - (£1.3m / £25,000)

Lewis Baker - (£1.04m / £20,000)

Michael Hector - (£884,000 / £17,000)

(Image: TIM EASTHOPE/BIRMINGHAM MAIL)

Matt Miazga - (£780,000 / £15,000)

Nathan - (£520,000 / £10,000)

Ethan Ampadu - (£390,000 / £7,500)

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Jake Clarke-Salter - (£260,000 / £5,000)

No data for: Fikayo Tomori, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Danilo Pantic, Jamal Blackman, Mario Pasalic, Lucas Piazon.