Chelsea Outgoings are Vital to Blues Transfer Wishlist
Chelsea fans need to be patient with the club's will to balance the books this summer
The summer transfer window, as is almost always the case with Chelsea FC, is an unpredictable spectacle of, rumour, debate, and demand from the club and fans alike. Despite being a little calmer than normal, this summer is not much different.
However, there is now a blatant desire to increase outgoings prior to making any major moves in this summer’s market. There are multiple reasons for this, primarily, the harrowing financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic simply cannot be lamented enough. In a recent analysis of market trends and the losses Premier League clubs, in particular, will incur, Deloitte estimated that combined, clubs are losing close to a staggering £1.6B with the Bundesliga in second place with combined losses estimated to be at around the £950 million mark. This has meant that big-money club or not, financial loss has become the flavour of football this summer.
Additionally, and perhaps more pertinent to clubs like Chelsea, the 2022/23 season will see a readjustment to the loan system whereby clubs will be limited to loaning out and/or in six players aged twenty-two or over, down from eight which has been the standard over previous seasons. Whilst this is only applicable to international loans as of yet, there is much debate and greater anticipation that changes to the domestic loan system are not far behind.
Chelsea, famous for its “Loan Army”, having loaned out an average of twenty players a season over the past three seasons, will therefore have to act with an increased degree of swiftness if they are to successfully readjust to the ever-encroaching loan rules.
Therefore, moving fringe players on permanent moves is top of the priority list before major signings can come through the Cobham doors.
Historically, Chelsea have been excellent at acquiring sufficient funds for peripheral players and youth players over the last five years, with examples of players such as Juan Cuadrado, Nathan Ake, Marc Guehi, and Fikayo Tomori all having left the club for over £15million.
Equally, Chelsea are smooth operators within the £3-10million area, having sold Tomas Kalas, Victorien Angben, Michael Hector, Victor Moses, Kasey Palmer, Kenneth Omeruo, Jeremie Boga, Dominic Solanke, Bertrand Traore, Christian Atsu, Ola Aina, Cesc Fabregas, and Tino Livramento all for between that price range. Overall, not bad.
However, there has always been an uncomfortable pain attributed to certain outgoings that I feel will only continue into the 2020s.
For good reason, much has been made of the fact Chelsea let go of Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku only for them to develop into world-class players. At the time these transfers did not completely hinder Chelsea’s ability to continually win silverware and it is worth remembering that Chelsea had players at the height of their ability operating in positions which those players desired to fill, if anything it is a small testament to Chelsea’s talent acquisition and scouting.
Yet with the new wave of youth-driven success ushered in by Frank Lampard and Jody Morris and perfected by Thomas Tuchel, losing youth players, in particular, is now having a greater impact on fans than perhaps ever before.
Fans, after over a decade of waiting, have now had the pleasure to see what can happen when the club combines the best of the academy with imported top-level talent. Whilst it is normal for each fan to have their favourite player, be it a previous Chelsea youth player or not, the uneasy sense of footballing karma coming back to haunt Chelsea following this summer’s loss of their top academy talent is far from ideal.
Chelsea fans have been used to the lack of sentimentality and thorough business acumen of the Abramovich era and the culture clash within the fanbase is now more polarised than ever before.
On one side, you have fans who yearn for big money signings - understandable considering the success the club has had when making them. On the other side, fans who hope to see the future mainstays of the Chelsea first team come from the academy.
As is often the case, the answer tends to appear in the middle ground with a blend of the two seemingly being the most likely and the most effective. What is troubling fans on both sides of the divide, however, is the selling of top-level youth talent whilst peripheral squad players remain.
Losing Fikayo Tomori, Marc Guehi, Lewis Bate, Tino Livramento, and Daniel Simeyu in the same summer leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste on the palate considering the density of peripheral talent the club need to sell.
In typical Chelsea fashion, big-money signings are desired to fill the open spaces that remain in the side. In a struggling economic market, the need to raise funds before making large purchases has meant that the club has had to accept bids they may otherwise have been reluctant to make.
With many clubs on the domestic and world scene stomaching major financial losses, they are having to take risks on promising youth players rather than purchasing established talent, couple this with youth players willing to take the chances they’re offered elsewhere and you end up with an exodus of top prospects leaving the club.
Chelsea fans need not fear, yet. With just under a month to go before the end of the transfer window, there is still plenty of time for Chelsea to conduct incoming and outgoing business; transfers almost always take more time than is usually assumed.
If Chelsea are intent on landing big-money signings such as Lukaku, Rice, Kounde, etc then the club will need to generate funds in any way they can, not to mention the fact the club spent a cool £220 million last summer which produced a Champions League winning side.
The clamour for signings is understandable, it is the modern foundations of the club to pay big money for the best players, but now more than ever a greater degree of patience is required. It is no secret that the Chelsea board operate in the shadows; signing players for over £50 million is a long and complicated game.
Chelsea fans have witnessed their fair share of dismal transfer windows, yet the comfort I can take in this one is that the club are seemingly unwilling to sign second-rate players if they fail to sign their top targets.
Transfers take time, especially in a world economy damaged by the impacts of a global pandemic that refuses to dissipate. There are plenty more unexpected twists to Chelsea’s summer transfer saga.
The club knows who they want, the fans know who they want, all we can do is wait and trust that the club will back the manager with the right talent.
Having opted to conduct the majority of their longer-term business last summer, there is little surprise this window has been somewhat quieter.
As rival teams strengthen, Chelsea fans are looking for the board to react and bring in the talent required to cement Chelsea’s position as one of the best clubs domestically and on the continent.
There is an identifiable order to the way in which business needs to be conducted this summer given the various circumstances. There is still time, the board undoubtedly working hard behind the scenes to get deals done, therefore the #MarinaOut brigade could do with relaxing ever so slightly.
Last season ended on the highest of highs, let’s ensure this mood is carried into next season rather than tumbling into mid-August divided. We all want new signings, let’s just give it a little longer before the meltdown.
Contribution Post by Jai Mcintosh