The buying spree in Chelsea continues: – It is difficult to understand exactly where they want to go

Summer after summer, the blue shirts from West London have completely surpassed their competitors in the transfer market since American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in 2022.

Chelsea has spent a staggering NOK 15.7 billion on player purchases in the last three years, while it has been sold for NOK 5.3 billion, according to Transfermarkt. This results in a deficit of well over ten billion kroner on the transfer market.

A number of the players have not turned out sportingly, and the club has a very broad stable. At the same time, Chelsea has been good at developing players for resale, and a common denominator for the investments has been young players on long contracts.

This spring, the team finished in 6th place in the Premier League after a strong end to the season. But manager Mauricio Pochettino disappeared, and now the replacements on the player side also seem to continue in full force.

Question mark

Mats Årthun, manager of Chelsea Supporters Norway, thinks there are many uncertainties surrounding the team and the club heading into the coming season.

– We (the supporters) are a bit of a question mark, so to speak. It is difficult to understand exactly where they want to go. Now most things have probably been replaced since Boehly and the gang came in. Then I think about management and care, key people in the academy and such, says Årthun to NTB and continues:

– In addition, we don’t exactly buy players at the top level. There are mid-level players. Except for Pedro Neto, who came in now. He can flourish and I think he can be good if given time and resources around him. But in general, I think we buy a little too much unknown. I think the idea is for them to flourish and be resold at a profit. But you don’t know which eleven will start.

Unusual politics

Many also wonder how Chelsea, with its transfer policy, can stay within Uefa’s financial fair play regulations (FFP) and the Premier League’s regulations for profitability and sustainability (PSR).

Recently it became known that the club has sold two hotels to its own sister company in order to stay within the PSR framework. Another consequence for Chelsea is that they see themselves having to sell self-produced players, such as Atlético Madrid current Conor Gallagher, because it represents pure profit in the club coffers.

– Chelsea have always had some control over this by producing so many players for sale. It is one of the ways they have been able to trade players. Another is the sale of property to oneself. Accounting-wise, you get a better payout for the sale of your own academy products, and the other way around, you get a better payout for players on long contracts. So it is quite obvious that it is their policy, says football expert and Viaplay commentator Kasper Wikestad to NTB.

He points out:

– And then it’s a bit strange when you hear Maresca (Enzo, new manager) complain that they have to sell self-produced players like Gallagher. Then you can ask yourself whether you need to buy so many players in so many positions.

Frequent replacements

Wikestad believes the frequent purchases and sales contributed to making it difficult for Pochettino – the team’s fifth head coach in two years – to continue at Chelsea.

– It looked like you were finally going to get something done in the last third of the season, and then you throw away part of it and start all over again. It will be interesting to see how they will solve this in the new season.

Årthun is also excited, and a bit optimistic, ahead of the season which starts with a home game against title holders Manchester City on Sunday. But he would like to see more continuity and clear leading stars in each team.

– I only wish there was a good central line there. That we have a clear goalkeeper, a clear leader in defense and in the midfield and a striker who scores goals, he says and lists three key things that need to be in place to have a successful season:

– We need a clear leader in defence, who manages, because Chelsea concedes terribly cheap goals. We need to be injury-free for key players. And then I hope that we have a striker who delivers something à la what Cole Palmer did last season. We need more of that caliber, preferably a striker.