Chelsea needs to offload deadwood, not loan it out
As we turn another page on the calendar and enter into the final month of the summer transfer window, this period can be seen as the beginning of an exciting new era at Chelsea. The Blues are looking to transform the way things are done from the top down. This begins with their new owner, American Todd Boehly, and his consortium. The new regime is looking to build on the successful foundation it inherited with manager Thomas Tuchel and his plethora of young stars.
The club has a lot of tasks on its to-do list, so it’s unrealistic for supporters to believe everything will be done within a matter of months. The issue of season tickets has already been resolved and the Romelu Lukaku saga has come to an end. Therefore, Boehly and Co. have now turned their attention to squad building. Chelsea’s new owner has spent almost all summer on his private jet thus far, flying from place to place, looking to build relationships with agents, clubs and players. Signing players is only half of the job though. As Boehly continues to build Tuchel’s ideal team, he needs to focus as much on the outgoings as he is the incomings.
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Chelsea needs to offload its deadwood players, not loan them out this summer
The Blues have struggled historically to sell a lot of their so-called deadwood. This was one of the biggest black marks on Marina Granovskaia’s resume in the eyes of supporters. However, as the old guard is ushered out—the transfer guru herself included—and the new guard trickles in, the fresh faces at the club have found themselves running into the same issues. The unfortunate (from Chelsea’s perspective) reality is that these individuals have flopped over the course of their careers in SW6, they’re on extremely high wages or, in some cases, all of the above.
The advantage that the new regime has is significant though. Boehly and Co. are essentially playing with house money on these sales. They didn’t pay these players’ respective transfer fees, nor have they been paying their wages for the last few seasons. The Blues will likely take a financial hit when many of these players are finally offloaded, but in the eyes of the new owners, any sale is a positive transaction. This is the only transfer window where that reality will exist, so unless Boehly is willing to let these individuals eat a hole in his pockets until their contracts expire, it’s in the club’s best interest to offload them permanently sooner rather than later.
Who exactly are these players we’re talking about though?
Former big money moves like Kepa Arrizabalaga and Timo Werner have recently been linked with moves away. Both Arrizabalaga (Napoli) and Werner (RB Leipzig) have reportedly been offered up to other major European clubs on loan. Hakim Ziyech (linked with AC Milan) is also in the same boat, although he’s not costing the club nearly as much as the aforementioned duo. These are all players who arguably have no place in the team. They’re quality additions to many other squads across the continent though, so the Blues should do everything within their power to get them off the books for good instead of continuing to kick the can down the road.
If Chelsea continues to see loans as a solution to their bloated squad issues, they’re only going to make matters worse for themselves in the future. The Arrizabalaga’s, Werner’s and Ziyech’s of the world will turn into players like Ross Barkley, Michy Batshuayi and Kenedy, who the Blues seemingly can’t get rid of, despite numerous attempts. The club needs to take a long look at itself in the mirror and snap back to reality. There were some bad transfers made in the past, but Chelsea needs to be willing to accept its mistakes of old and correct them in the present.
Next. Chelsea set to make its third summer signing next week. dark
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