Chelsea can learn from Leicester City’s treatment of Kelechi Iheanacho
No compromises
Looking at the overarching culture of Chelsea, the argument which best captures its approach toward footballing matters is that there must be no compromises in the hunt for trophies. That includes firing a manager who led the team to second place in the league. That includes sacking a club legend as the standards momentarily fell below the required level. That includes selling or loaning out players who haven’t been able to hit the mark in just one season at the club.
For its part, the club has delivered in terms of tangible results. The cost it incurred in personnel paid off tenfold when the team won several Premier League titles and the Champions League. The cost, however, was a human one. Several players had their developments stalled and weren’t able to recover. For every Salah—a player who has been able to forge a successful career despite facing immediate rejection at the club—there is a Marko Marin.
There is a different approach that can be taken here, one which focuses both on long-term player development and short-term trophy aims. Frank Lampard proved that partially last season when his youthful Chelsea side achieved a top four finish and nearly won the FA Cup. Leicester City and Iheanacho have hammered home that point this season. The Foxes have kept pace at the top of the table and are likely to finish ahead of the Blues in the league.
A counter-argument that can be made in favor of Chelsea is that the club is not bound by the same limitations as Leicester. The Foxes are financially much weaker than the Blues. As such, they need their big investments to come good and are likely to put more time and care into their development. Chelsea isn’t bound by the same constraints. They can spend big on players again and again and again—for now. For them, perhaps the best way to keep the team competitive is through quick turnovers in personnel.
However, that approach has its shortcomings. Apart from trapping the club in a vicious cycle that forces it to spend their money each season in search of a better player, this strategy also hampers the development of players. Moreover, the club rarely makes a profit on the sales of players. There have been a few cases where the Blues received a huge sum of money for someone they had deemed unfit for the first team. However, a large number of professionals are caught in loan limbo and end up losing their value. It is often more costly to let them go than to show continuous faith in them.