Chelsea’s no ban plan shows the club has no long term vision

Chelsea is reportedly drafting up a plan for whether the ban stays in place this summer or not. The no ban plan shows the lack of a long term vision.

The transfer ban being in place for the summer (as of now) seems to have truly caught Chelsea off guard. The addition of Zinedine Zidane returning to Real Madrid has also caused the club to begin preparations for Eden Hazard’s departure.

The Blues have drafted up a no ban plan and a ban plan, both with the working assumption that Hazard will depart. The ban plan is basically holding off on contract decisions and loan destinations. The implication is that more players will be handed extensions that otherwise would not have and that more loan army players will be integrated.

But some parts of the no ban plan point towards there not really being a plan at all. Some of the decisions Chelsea appears to be gearing up for make partial sense but others are nonsensical entirely.

Not many names are mentioned in relation to contract extensions, but currently David Luiz, Willy Caballero, Gary Cahill, Robert Green, and Oliver Giroud are all running their contracts down. With a ban, it seems Luiz, Caballero, and Giroud will receive an extension.

But the implication is with no ban, all those players will be allowed to leave, plus the addition of either Pedro or Willian. That part makes sense. Without a ban this summer, Chelsea will go into rebuild mode. Moving on as many players over 30 as possible makes sense.

But it also appears Michy Batshuayi and Kurt Zouma will go up for sale if the ban does not take effect right away. That also makes sense. As promising as those two players are, they are both getting older and their promise is turning into actuality. A ban means both are likely to return and supplement the squad, but it makes sense to ear mark them for a cash in.

It is the group of Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Mason Mount, and James Clarke-Salter where things start to fall apart. With a ban, it is expected the four will return to supplement the squad. Without a ban they are all set to go on loan to a higher level.

Are any of those four players ready to start for Chelsea? No probably not. But if all four of those players go, and all those older players leave as well, that leaves a lot of holes in the squad that Chelsea will go to the transfer market to fill. Which means that a lot more barriers will be put up between those players and making the first team.

Take the right back spot for instance. Cesar Azpilicueta is likely to stay regardless. Davide Zappacosta is very likely to leave. So if Zappacosta is leaving and James is sent on loan, Chelsea will go buy a right back to either bench Azpilicueta or deputize him. Regardless, James will be pushed further from the first team.

Or at striker where, if Maurizio Sarri stays and there is no ban, Gonzalo Higuain is sure to stay. In the no ban scenario, Batshuayi will be sold, Abraham sent on loan, and Giroud released. Chelsea would be insane to go into a season with just Higuain as the striker, so they are sure to buy at least one if not two more strikers.

Those types of decisions will happen all over. And they all hint at a lack of planning. Chelsea has one of the best youth set ups in the entire world but they never offer a pathway for it. The only pathway that may be offered will be forced by a ban and that is not how things should be.

Abraham, James, Mount, and Clarke-Salter may not be ready to deputize next season and they may need more minutes than Chelsea can offer them. But the Blues cannot forget that they are there as they seek to block off their pathway.

Chelsea needs to find ways to integrate those young players with or without the ban. The squad does need strengthening, but that should not come at the expense of the next generation once gain. The Premier League is littered with players that saw their pathway blocked off at Chelsea by new signings. The Blues need to learn their lesson sooner or later.