Those scrapping towards the foot of the Premier League may disagree, but it is possible that Chelsea‘s players have more pressure to perform than at any other club in the division: with so much competition for places, they are only ever one game away from losing their places or potentially being banished from the first-team picture for good.
On Wednesday night a left-footed England U21 winger who predominantly plays on the right scored a penalty to draw Chelsea level against AFC Wimbledon, approximately 90 minutes or so after news had broken that the club had agreed to pay £45m for another left-footed England U21 winger who predominantly plays on the right.
As Noni Madueke shared a dressing room with Cole Palmer during the Young Lions’ tournament triumph in Georgia this summer, he probably had an inkling that he could soon become a club colleague. Given how quickly negotiations accelerated, though, he might have only found out before kick-off as notifications on his phone began to flood in.
Regardless of whether Madueke was aware of Chelsea’s interest in Palmer or not, he will have probably have had a good idea that another winger would be joining the club before Friday’s transfer deadline anyway.
The club have recruited seven wide forwards, including Madueke himself, at a cost of over £200m in three windows since Todd Boehly’s takeover, after all.
With the exception of the ancient Raheem Sterling (28 years old), all of those players are aged 22 or under, which makes it difficult to see what pathway, if any, is mapped out at the club. Assuming only two can play at any one time, what happens to the rest?
Some like David Datro Fofana and Angelo Gabriel have been farmed out on loan where they will hope to develop sufficiently to challenge for a starting place at Stamford Bridge next season.
The problem is by the time they return the likelihood is that the path to the starting XI will be even more crowded. Boehly, like those social media accounts with pro players as their avatars, seems to relish transfer trading more than the sport itself.
There are numerous puzzling aspects to Chelsea’s recruitment strategy, not least the amortisation of player’s contracts which football finance expert Kieran Maguire told i will either make the club “look like geniuses or very foolish” in years to come.
But the stockpiling of players of a similar age, position, and skill set is another. Acquiring young prospects with a high ceiling is very much on trend in European football – if less so in other markets like Saudi Arabia and MLS – as they can provide greater long-term value to a club if they fulfill their potential.
Chelsea will hope that even those not playing for their first-team will retain or even rise in value due to their age and/or performances elsewhere, but it is a risky strategy. Not everyone signed will make good on their promise.
They need to play regularly and in the right environment in order to flourish and with spaces limited in Mauricio Pochettino‘s squad and a multi-club network (shudders) still to be established, that is far from certain.
Players moving to Chelsea are taking on a fair risk too despite the financial benefits that come with it. Palmer, 21, has made only three Premier League starts for City, accumulating less than 500 minutes in total from 15 appearances.
If he found it difficult to break into Pep Guardiola‘s starting XI, it’s not going to be much easier getting into Pochettino’s.
Madueke was one of the few players to impress against Wimbledon on a night when it was difficult to. There’s not much to be learned when a squad assembled for a billion quid takes on a side from League Two.
The 21-year-old committed full-backs with driving, penetrative runs, won and then converted a penalty and generally looked to make a positive impact in what was his first start of the season.
It was an encouraging performance that he will hope to build upon. The question is, will he get sufficient chances to?
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3x5wurF
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