Strategy
There was a clear need for Chelsea to rejuvenate an ageing squad. Indeed, almost all of the new signings are fairly young, so there could be a lot of potential growth. The club will hope that these players continue to develop, thus further appreciate in value, despite some of the high prices paid.
If they do want to sell a player, the theory is that they would be able to secure a good price, as it will be a very long time before the contract runs down, giving the club more security.
In addition, if the club anticipates wage inflation, then it makes sense to lock down the players at current wages, rather than give raises as (shorter) contracts approach their end date.
Risks
However, the other side of the coin is that there are many risks associated with this strategy.
There will be issues in terms of the number of players that Chelsea can register with the Premier League squad restricted to 25. The problem of who to leave out was already seen last season, when some players fell victim to UEFA’s regulation that a club can only register three new players for the Champions League knockout stages.
That dilemma is a sign of things to come in terms of squad management. Graham Potter for one struggled to keep all of his players motivated during his ill-starred time in charge. Some players will be unhappy at not being picked for the first team (or even the match day squad).
This challenge was underlined by Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp in a reference to their big spending, “You cannot have two dressing rooms, you cannot train on two pitches, you have to create relationships, you have to create team spirit, and that’s the only reason why I’m a little bit happy about it.”
The odds are that not all of Chelsea’s new signings will be successes, so what happens to the flops? It will be far from straightforward to find another club to take such players off Chelsea’s hands at a similar level of wages, so transfer values could fall just as easily as increase.
Even worse, the underperforming players might just sit there, happy to be trousering the cash, taking up valuable places in the squad. Chelsea fans will be all too familiar with the Winston Bogarde story.
Conclusion
While it has long been evident that talent acquisition is a core part of the strategies of leading clubs, Chelsea have really taken this to the extreme. Time will tell if Boehly’s strategy will be a success or whether it will end in tears.
Chelsea have repeatedly stated that they will comply with financial fair play despite all of the big money buys. I’m not so sure that they will, but their massive spending does not automatically mean that they will fall foul of the regulations, especially if they maintain their profitable player trading model (assisted by the accounting treatment of transfers).
The challenge in 2023/24 has obviously been made harder by their failure to qualify for Europe, while there remains a big question mark over a couple of their main sponsorships (shirt and sleeve).
As it stands, it looks like they will be higher than the maximum allowed losses in 2023/24 for both sets of regulations (Premier League and UEFA), though much will depend on whether they are allowed to make a number of additional adjustments (as some other clubs have done).
However, if push comes to shove, they can always improve matters by some more player sales. Even after shifting numerous players, there are still quite a few left that would generate decent money, especially the Academy products like Conor Gallagher, Trevor Chalobah, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Armando Broja and Ian Maatsen.
Throw in a couple of out-of-favour players like Romelu Lukaku and Marc Cucurella and there are clearly gains that could still be made.
Whether Chelsea’s approach is a good one for football is debatable. La Liga’s voluble president Javier Tebas pointed out the knock-on effect it has on other clubs, “It is quite dangerous that the markets are doped, inflated, as has been happening in recent years in Europe, because that can jeopardise the sustainability of European football.” It has also raised the bar in terms of transfer fees, as seen by this summer’s market.
Despite the disquiet about the impact on the broader football world, Chelsea’s fans will be more concerned about whether the spending spree delivers success on the pitch.