Chelsea are replicating last season’s transfer window debacle
Antonio Conte’s arrival restored a sense of positivity and motivation to Chelsea. The club’s transfer inactivity is quickly draining these feelings from Chelsea’s fans.
A new manager brings refreshed and innovative tactics, and more importantly transfers. The summer transfer window is one of the most highly anticipated periods for all the clubs and the fans alike. With Antonio Conte arriving at Chelsea, the excitement was palpable.
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Clubs buy players to consolidate their teams and enable the manager’s strategy. They also use new signings as a statement of intent and purpose.
Compare Manchester United and Chelsea. After Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, the Red Devils lacked character and leadership and that translated into disappointing performances on the pitch.
Manchester United are a different beast with the arrival of Jose Mourinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba. These arrivals bring their footballing experience, but clubs use them just as much to signal a commitment to fight for the title. When the opposition sees Ibrahimovic on the other side of the pitch, they know United mean business.
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Chelsea started off their transfer season auspiciously. They identified two weak points and filled them with Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante. With these moves, the club seemed to shed off their baggage of a horrendous transfer season last summer.
But, with less than a week remaining in the transfer window, the old habits return. Chelsea’s defence remains an unavoidable mess. The opening matches of this season extend last season’s frightening vulnerability at the back. The Blues urgently need a central defender who can shore up an ageing backline.
The club have been linked with Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly for a long time. This transfer saga is showing no positive signals. Napoli seems dissatisfied with whatever price the Londoners offer.
Chelsea recently bid for AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli. The Blues offered £30 million, AC Milan rejected. Michael Emenalo and the board created another transfer failure for the West London club.
This is becoming the norm at Stamford Bridge, while it was quite uncommon some years back.
The market is going berserk with prices inflating. Chelsea, despite Roman Abramovich’s bankrolling and a raft of new sponsorships, seemingly refuse to participate in such a market. The passivity will come at the cost of their season.
Last season’s debacle could have been avoided if the Blues had made some new signings. Mourinho’s tactics and training ground antics were wearing thin, but a club needs reinforcements to mount a title defence. Particularly when rivals are shelling millions to strengthen their squads, stasis is not an option.
Mourinho desperately called for new signings time and again at the start of the 2015/16 season. Emenalo and the transfer committee failed to act, contributing to the Portuguese’s sacking and a 10th place finish. Unfortunately, similar circumstances are emerging right now.
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Conte has reportedly placed specific transfer demands with the Blues hierarchy. Michael Emenalo would surely play a key role at these meetings. Roman Abramovich is not shy to spend when needed, but he trusts Emenalo and keeps faith with his decisions.
Michael Emenalo has become a roadblock, not a gate-keeper, between the manager and the owner. After these meetings adjourn and Antonio Conte is no longer face-to-face with Roman Abramovich, who will have the last word with the owner? Will Abramovich ponder Conte’s evidence for more signings, or will he take the advice of his technical director? Recent history suggests the latter.
Chelsea evinces a complete lack of direction in their transfer pursuit. Adding to the frustration, they signed a goalkeeper, Eduardo, from Dinamo Zagreb. The Blues have a solid backup keeper in Asmir Begovic. What is the point in unsettling him?
If Chelsea fail to bring a defender to Stamford Bridge in the next five days, then regardless of Batshuayi and Kante, this transfer season will go down as another fiasco. The Blues are conceding to the likes of Bristol Rovers. What will happen against the Manchester clubs and other quality opposition?
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Chelsea simply cannot afford another unsuccessful transfer season. Unfortunately, Michael Emenalo and the board are leading the club down the same road despite knowing where that road ends.