How Boehly's billion pound transfers have left Chelsea WORSE than ever
Suraj Radia
- 7 Dec 2023 19:17 GMT
- 3 min read
Much has been made of Todd Boehly’s transfer business in the past 18 months and Chelsea’s billion pound outlay has proven to be as naïve, confusing and pointless as their performances on the pitch.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side fell to a dismal 2-1 loss at Manchester United on Wednesday, leaving Chelsea sitting mid table and supporters feeling more disillusioned than ever over what has happened to their team since Boehly’s takeover in May last year.
Indeed, the transfers have been memed to the point where fans have become numb to the staggering numbers being spent, even more so considering the squad appears more understaffed, imbalanced and simply of a lower quality than ever before.
With the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo all underwhelming and raw in their decision making, Bohely’s plan to go all-in on a youthful rebuild mirrors the inexperience shown by his young talents.
Even ‘senior’ stars such as captain Reece James have displayed their immaturity in recent weeks, with the Blues skipper getting needlessly sent off against Newcastle before stand-in captain Conor Gallagher suffered the same fate in the next game versus Brighton.
Pochettino has been forced to work with a small squad of unconvincing youngsters who are facing the pressure to live up to extortionate pricetags, making a mockery of Boehly’s spending and leaving Chelsea with no clear vision or belief for the future.
Chelsea’s inefficient spending costing Chelsea their future
Pochettino's football has been uninspiring and unproductive but the ex-Tottenham boss has not been given the tools to execute any cohesive game plan despite the record-breaking outlay.
Chelsea reportedly opted against battling Tottenham to sign James Maddison during the summer as they believed the forward to be too old for their recruitment policy targeting players under 25, yet the England international boasts more goal involvements than any Blues player despite having been injured since the start of November.
Maddison would have become the third-oldest person in Chelsea’s squad despite only being 27 and Boehly’s reluctance to balance out his young squad with experience has left Pochettino’s side lacking substance, all while having overextended their financial fair play obligations and having little to show for it.
Nearly €200m of the €465m Chelsea spent this summer has seen a total of 221 minutes of Premier League action this season, 212 of which has come from €27m midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu, who is still yet to find his feet in the Premier League.
The rest was spent on players who have spent the whole campaign injured, out on loan or simply far too young and inexperienced to be relied on, leaving Pochettino fielding a nine-man bench at Old Trafford with a combined total 37 Premier League appearances outside of James.
Chelsea will cling onto the positivity of their one encouraging signing in Cole Palmer, while the return of Christopher Nkunku from injury will undoubtedly add a new threat to Pochettino’s side but it appears Boehly’s expensive rebuild has bought more questions to answer than anything else.
