Chelsea backed themselves into corner over Nathaniel Chalobah, paid the price
Chelsea saw one of their most promising youngsters permanently leave on Thursday as Nathaniel Chalobah joined Watford for a minimal fee. Unbelievable.
Chelsea’s dire transfer window continued on Thursday as arguably their most talented prospect decided to permanently leave the club. Nathaniel Chalobah, the highly-rated midfielder, joined Watford on a five-year deal for a fee rumoured to be little over £5 million. The Blues fumbled the ball here and they paid the price.
Chalobah has for long been touted as the next great Chelsea midfielder. His talent was there for all to see, but it wasn’t until he was nearly 22 that he made his senior debut. Antonio Conte retained him at Stamford Bridge last season, handing him 15 appearances. However, ten of them came off the bench – the youngster enjoyed little game time.
With one year to go on his contract, the Blues did nothing to reassure Chalobah that he had a bright future in West London. He played hardball over a contract extension and has now decided to take his talent elsewhere.
More from The Pride of London
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea player ratings: Abysmal, reckless, wasteful
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
And absolutely no-one can blame him.
Chelsea’s consistent failure to graduate academy players into the first team is well-documented. This summer has also seen Nathan Ake leave the Blues for Bournemouth. The Dutchman chose regular football at a mid-table side over the bench at the champions. In that deal, Chelsea received a £20 million fee. In the Chalobah deal, the club are receiving peanuts.
Watford have taken advantage of Chalobah’s refusal to sign a new contract, paying a rumoured fee of £6 million.
£6 million for Chelsea’s supposed next great hope? That’s a disgrace and one that fans are rightly infuriated by.
It must be said that no-one is directing any resentment towards Chalobah. Fans are too used to seeing potential superstar careers be ruined at Stamford Bridge. The Englishman has refused to follow the same path and you can’t begrudge him that.
This is no longer an issue about having the desire to succeed at Stamford Bridge. It’s about a desire to succeed full stop. Sticking in West London is detrimental to that.
Look at Romelu Lukaku, for example. He got fed up and left. Three years later and Chelsea were falling over their feet to re-sign him. Now, the Belgian is going to be the main man in arguably the world’s biggest football club.
Next: Chelsea’s transfer activity so far follows patterns of Abramovich era
Chelsea backed themselves into the corner over Nathaniel Chalobah. They failed to give him the first-team football he both needed and deserved. Now, they’re letting him go for a negligible fee. I, for one, can’t wait to see the Blues again bend backwards to re-sign him in three seasons’ time. And for a £70 million fee too.