Chelsea sporting directors have finally revealed why the club signs so many young stars. Meanwhile a 24-year-old Blues defender is not in the 25-man Premier League squad, as a price is set for a CFC goalkeeper.
Many of us who regularly comment on Chelsea expected the recruitment department to begin targeting some elder statesmen to lead the Blues team this season. But they just kept on signing younger professionals, even if they are English top-flight-proven. Naturally more starlets were required, although the extent to which the best up-and-comers are targeted feels unprecedented. At last an explanation is given:
"‘But the average age of the squad was high, we had players with contract issues which had been inherited from an ownership change, and then there were players who made it clear they wanted to leave. That needed to be addressed.’ChelseaFC.com"
The Pride of London talk Chelsea centreback Malang Sarr and Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga
First of all, as we roundup some CFC topics on this sunny September Friday afternoon in England, let’s see what’s happening with Malang Sarr. Entirely unpredictably, the man who arrived from Nice in 2020 was omitted from Mauricio Pochettino’s EPL roster. The Frenchman has been out of favour with a procession of Blues bosses so, as previously mentioned, this news comes as no surprise.
What is surprising – I suppose – is that then-Chelsea chiefs decided to pay the 24-year-old a reported £100,000-per-week. Ridiculous. However, Sarr is tipped to join a club from Turkey in the near future, so hopefully he can get his career on track. Thankfully he’ll be off the Chels’ wage bill by that time. You can see the full list of chosen Blues by clicking here.
Elsewhere, the west Londoners clearly do not wish to give Spanish stopper Kepa another chance at Stamford Bridge. In spite of being one of the better performers of a bad Blues bunch in 2022/23, the goalie was loaned to footballing juggernaut Real Madrid. Pochettino obviously is not keen; I must say that the Argentine’s decision was not too much of a shock. Chelsea would apparently accept €20m-25million for their asset in summer 2024.