Since the Boehly takeover, Chelsea has hauled in an abundance of talent, most of which have been unable to take the field for even a second because of the age restriction of youth football players of the ages 16 and below. Yet there has been a stubborn theme of recurrence when it comes to throwing “investive” sums of money toward these athletes unbeknownst backgrounds. Now compound that with the signings of athletes who can actually make a run at the first team and you have quite the bloated charter bus, filled with varying egos and disgruntled stars who have been shoved down the pecking order merely due to the squads size.
In 2019, the club faced a transfer ban and under the coaching direction of lampard we saw homegrown talents such as Reece James, who when healthy is arguably the best full back in the world or Mason Mount, who turned out to be an essential component to the Champions League run. Today, it seems inevitable that there is little interest in following the formula that initially built the youth movement that propelled Chelsea to a few major trophies after the heartbreaking move of their star Eden Hazard.
There was a mention of a four window plan by new ownership, a plan that has saw more than a billion dollars spent as we enter the end of the final window within that established agenda. With the club struggling to field outgoings, it is only a matter of time before FIFA steps in and pursues charges that could behold similar, if not worse consequences as the last ban. Yet, maybe that was the plan all along? To bend the rules as far they could be bent, so that by the time they are confronted for doing so, they will be set on talent for the next decade. As far fetched as it may seem… or not, the recurring pattern of nine year contracts gives the club full leverage over their talent and if their talent were to find themselves disgruntled over whatever future awaits them and the club is still levied by the sanctions imposed by FIFA, there will be no urgency to relieve them to another club.
The fact of the matter is that, Chelsea has operated in a matter unrealized by even the most corrupt of clubs with the likes of PSG and Real Madrid. For a manager entering his first year at the club, let alone his first as manager in the Premier League, having to burden such a insurmountable squad size is a daunting task. The fact of the matter is Chelsea will have to field at least a dozen sales as we enter the final two weeks of the window. Under no circumstances should they be pursuing more options, such as Victor Osimhen or Joao Felix, or both as some reports have suggested without balancing the checkbooks. There is no doubt that experiential signings should be prioritized amongst this influx of inexperienced talent, but right now, there suggests no room for that. Worse case scenario, they enter the season running with Nicolas Jackson as their striker after a promising rookie campaign. Allow him to build off of the foundation that has been established, instead of bearing him down to the touchline. Talent will never develop without experience and if you want to see the talent you have placed billions into payoff, you have to leave room for adequate opportunity. The fact of the matter is that the club has shown no implications of doing so by pursuing the likes of such players.
The club has been seathing of contradiction has they harp on patience yet foam at the mouth with word of any new toy they can get their hands on. This is not the Chelsea of the past and at this point it is out of the realm of possibility to attempt to replicate that. There is youth and potential, which will only be developed through the process of maturation which will take seasons to reach the potential it was intended. This is the only reasonable answer upon the crisis that has unfolded since the Boehly takeover. Stop running from your own words and stay on the tracks you established, however bumpy and crooked they may be.
