With increasing regularity on social media, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is being accused of playing Football Manager given his evident fondness for transfers, transfers and more transfers.
This was echoed by Gary Neville, the Sky Sports pundit who added on The Overlap: “He seems to be wandering around a little bit. They’re a bit panicky now… That pressure is on him, and he wouldn’t have had that pressure if he kept the people in before and let them operate for a year or two.”
Boehly, the American who led the takeover of Chelsea last May, has at least stepped down from playing interim sporting director – with new technical director Christopher Vivell and director of global talent and transfers Paul Winstanley taking the reins – but that has not slowed the club down in terms of recruitment.
Indeed, Boehly’s step down, and Neville’s comments, came before Chelsea’s biggest transfer of the season, with the Blues hijacking Arsenal’s interest in Mykhailo Mudryk and signing the Ukraine international for a reported £88.5m deal on a staggering eight-and-a-half-year contract.
More from Football
Why Chelsea signed the ‘punchy and powerful' £26m Malo Gusto as their latest transfer29 January, 2023
i's guide to FA Cup fifth-round draw - date, time, ball numbers and how to watch live28 January, 2023
Son stars, Danjuma's debut and Sessegnon's struggles - Spurs player ratings vs Preston28 January, 2023And after all that, Boehly appeared to join a Twitter Spaces discussion featuring Chelsea fans talking about Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace – and further transfer targets.
Boehly is said to have left the live audio conversation after Declan Rice’s name was mentioned, and regardless of whether they make a move for the West Ham midfielder or not – with the England international a reported, albeit expensive, target in the past – it is evident Chelsea’s co-owner remains eager to tune in to the views of his club’s supporters.
Chelsea transfers under Todd Boehly
- Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5m
- Wesley Fofana from Leicester, £75m
- Marc Cucurella from Brighton, £60m
- Raheem Sterling from Man City, £47.5m
- Benoit Badiashile from Monaco, £35m
- Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, £33m
- Noni Madueke from PSV, £29m
- Malo Gusto from Lyon, £26m
- Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, £20m
- Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama, £18m
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, £10.3m
- Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire, £9m
- David Datro Fofana from Molde, £8m
- Denis Zakaria from Juventus, loan
- Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid, £9.7m loan
Further signings have followed in the January transfer window, while already this month Chelsea have brought in Joao Felix on loan plus Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos on permanent deals, with Noni Madueke confirmed on 26 January and Malo Gusto signing on 29 January. Chelsea’s estimated spending under Boehly has now exceeded £400m.
The aim? To help boost their prospects of a Champions League run and swift charge back up the Premier League table, with Chelsea currently 10th on 28 points, a hefty 10 behind Manchester United in fourth.
In this mission to return to winning ways in the second half of the season, head coach Graham Potter can now count on (deep breath) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Hakim Ziyech, David Datro Fofana, Kai Havertz and Mudryk as his options up front.
Adding Mudryk therefore makes it understandable why Boehly’s transfer approach has been labelled somewhat scattergun, while Potter even admitted he had “no idea” how the signing of the winger materialised.
“We’re delighted he is here, I’ve no idea in terms of how it’s happened,” said Potter.
“I’ve been focusing on the game, as you can imagine, but he’s an exciting player – a player with real quality, a young player that will need time to adapt to the Premier League and to us, but we’re delighted to have him.”
Nevertheless, Mudryk joins a squad depleted by injuries – not to mention a suspension for Felix – and arguably, in this season made more condensed by the World Cup break, Chelsea are factoring in never having full availability.
And if they do, well, best of luck, Potter, you’ve got a forward line the envy of most Premier League clubs, but one that also makes for a selection headache at a point where time is precious and the opportunity to experiment is at a premium.
Next up, it is fellow Big Six strugglers Liverpool away on Saturday, so let’s see the attackers Potter goes for then.
Chelsea squad in full
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Edouard Mendy, Gabriel Slonina
Defenders: Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana
Midfielders: Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Denis Zakaria, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka
Forwards: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Hakim Ziyech, David Datro Fofana, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Mykhailo Mudryk
Possible best XI when all fit (3-4-3): Kepa; Silva, Fofana, Koulibaly; Chilwell; Kante, Mount, James; Felix, Havertz, Sterling.
Analysis: None of this makes sense
By Daniel Storey, i chief football writer
The pressing emergency was at least relieved by an edgy 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace, an opponent who Chelsea always beat and who had the better of the first half, but there is still so much noise and chaos surrounding this squad that it’s hard to know what happens next.
Look at the matchday squad that Graham Potter picked. There were four academy graduates on the pitch from the start, including Lewis Hall over Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly left on the bench. Those two were summer signings and are now probably backups. They were joined on the bench by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who in the space of four days has gone from second to fourth-choice striker. He too only joined in the summer.
Chelsea have already used 27 players in the league this season, and that doesn’t include the £60m signing they paraded at half-time. Christopher Nkunku will arrive in the summer. Potter flourished with a small, tight-knit squad at Brighton that he was able to sculpt to his tactical demands.
More on Chelsea FC
Why Chelsea signed the ‘punchy and powerful' £26m Malo Gusto as their latest transfer29 January, 2023
Sara Bjork's pregnancy story shocked women's football, but it's different at Chelsea27 January, 2023
Chelsea yet to address their biggest weaknesses this transfer window despite six signings25 January, 2023Which made his post-match comments very interesting: “I think we’ve got to be, not necessarily careful, but I think you’ve just got to understand that we’ve got about 10 or 11 players unavailable,” he said.
“So, obviously, you can’t just sign players to replace those because in the end, you have a squad of 30 and that’s the problem. My job, I think, is trying to support the club, make the right decisions. And then to help the team improve.”
None of this makes sense, financially or strategically. At some point Todd Boehly is going to have to stop trying to impress his new audience by buying player after player.
This is an excerpt from The Score, Daniel Storey’s weekly verdict on every Premier League club. Click here to read this week’s edition or click here to get it sent straight to your inbox on a Monday morning.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/5uqVQ2X
Post a Comment