Chelsea outsourcing their transfer agenda to the true mega-clubs
By George Perry
Cristiano Ronaldo’s rumoured transfer to Juventus may not be the most expensive of the summer, but it will by far garner the most attention. It will also settle one decision for Chelsea, who seem content letting the true mega-clubs shape their summer business.
The greatest, most famous, brand-unto-himself footballer may transfer this summer for well under half of the world record. Juventus are supposedly offering Real Madrid £88 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. This pedestrian amount is closer to what Chelsea received for Oscar than what Barcelona or Monaco received for Neymar or Kylian Mbappe. Even so, Juventus will need to sell players to cover the expense. They also will not be able to buy any other expensive players, such as Alvaro Morata.
Chelsea paid £58 million for Morata, which puts his current value at Stamford Bridge at no less than £65 million (a floor of 10% profit). Juventus could not sell enough players to afford two players at a combined £150 million. One mindless outcome is talk of a swap deal sending Gonzalo Higuain to Chelsea for Morata. That is bad football as well as bad business.
Juventus’ move for Ronaldo, then, forecloses the Morata possibility. This is the most recent example of Chelsea letting the ambitious, early-moving mega-clubs shape their possibilities. Rather than taking any initiative to get what they want, protect who they have or sell who they no longer need, the Blues let the major clubs have the first go at the transfer market. After the top clubs shuffle the available talent around Europe, Chelsea pick and choose from the leftovers.
Chelsea are still in goalkeeper limbo. Having alienated many Blues fans, Thibaut Courtois has moved on to distancing himself from the goalkeepers’ union. Courtois holds too many cards, and stalled contract talks until after the World Cup. Meanwhile, Alban LaFont is a signature away from signing Fiorentina. Allison’s representatives laid the groundwork before the World Cup for a transfer to Liverpool, and the chatter has scarcely let up.
By the time Chelsea start their talks with Courtois, their best options could be off the market. They will then either be stuck with Courtois, will overpay for some marginal talent or make a huge mistake like Gianluigi Donnarumma (who was involved in his own Morata-related bad idea).
Similarly, Chelsea need at least one winger and they need to sell Willian. Rather than take decisive steps on either, they are letting Manchester United and, more recently, Barcelona drive the issue. First they will see if either club comes through with an offer. If United does, they will inquire about a deal including Anthony Martial. If neither do, they do not appear to have a self-inititated plan for the sale or the purchase. They are neither shopping Willian nor shopping for a winger. And the end of the window draws ever nearer.
Over the last few windows, Chelsea went through the same process with left wing-back. They went in to varying extents for Alex Sandro, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy. While Chelsea dithered, Juventus locked down Sandro while Manchester City scooped up Danilo and Mendy. Instead, the Blues bought Marcos Alonso on deadline day 2016, and Emerson on January deadline day 2018.
That ended up working out as the best possible outcome. Alonso exceeded all expectations and outshone his three unpurchased challengers. But the only person who could have foreseen Alonso’s rise is Antonio Conte, and we all know he had minimal involvement in the transfer decisions.
As we said recently, Chelsea are not known for their long-term strategic planning. If this were another club, this could all be chalked up to “strategic patience.” But the Blues do not do their business the way they play football. They are not sitting back in the transfer market, absorbing pressure, waiting for the trigger to spring an audacious counter-attack for the signing of the summer.
Next: Chelsea have three days (now two) to save their season
Instead, they are letting Juventus, Manchester United and Barcelona – the true mega-clubs – control the tempo and determine what options will remain. They will then choose from the picked-over remnants, and wonder why Chelsea is fighting to maintain even second-tier status among the elites.