4 Notable takeaways from Chelsea’s winter spending spree
Scouting should guide spending, not substitute it
Some fans have mistaken Liverpool’s model to mean that they scout very well and so don’t need to spend as much money as other teams to compete, meanwhile in reality, Liverpool has spent heavily, and have even spent relatively big money on players that haven’t worked out too. Liverpool spent £75million on Virgil van Dijk and £69million on Alisson Becker, and only then did they begin to compete for the league, as they finish 4th in the 2017/18 season, but finished second with 97 points the following season.
At the time they were rumoured to be interested in Van Dijk for that money, many would have found it ridiculous to spend that amount of money on a player, but if you scout a player very well and you know exactly what you’re getting with him, you would not mind spending what’s required to get the player. Other teams have spent the same amount of money and even more on centerbacks in the same league, but have not enjoyed the same success, this is telling.
Clubs often make big money signings, but significantly fewer clubs are getting the right players for their team’s style of play for that money. This is why scouting is important, and why clubs should scout before spending, even if they’d be spending big money. CFC’s scouting and recruitment team has been working round the clock, to get the best players on the best deals.
dark. Next. CFC’s board has done its part - now it’s up to Potter to do his
Ultimately, Boehly has showed that he plans to compete, and he knows spending is necessary, but he doesn’t just want to spend for the sake of it, he wants to spend on the right player, even if he’d be paying a premium, and that is why Chelsea fans can be excited about the fortunes of the west London club in the coming years and decades.