Boehly concerned by Chelsea transfers after being ‘sidelined’ in civil war

Robin Bairner

9 Sep 2024 03:00 CDT
3 min read

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is unconvinced by the club’s transfer strategy, which is fuelling a civil war behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

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At the first international break of the season, the Blues have made a satisfactory start to the campaign under Enzo Maresca, posting a win, a draw and a defeat in their three Premier League matches to date.

If bedding-in issues on the field were expected after yet another change of manager and summer of heavy recruitment at Chelsea, what had not been anticipated was an explosion behind the scenes.

Boehly and fellow Chelsea owners Clearlake Capital, led by Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, are at loggerheads over the running of the club, with reports indicating that each party is eager to buy out the other and take complete control.

Somewhat surprisingly, one of the major issues fuelling the animosity between the Blues’ owners comes in the transfer market.

Sky Sports explains that Eghbali, whose Clearlake group owns 61.5% of the club, is “very much in charge” at Stamford Bridge with Bohely “effectively sidelined”.

“In private conversations up until last year they put on a united front, but it is now clear that Boehly has reservations about the club's new recruitment strategy and the failure to make significant progress on redeveloping Stamford Bridge,” the report indicates.

“Relations between Eghbali and Boehly can best be described as professional and cordial at the moment.”

It has also been reported that Boehly wanted to keep Mauricio Pochettino in charge after Chelsea finished last season strongly.

Chelsea’s summer transfer business

Chelsea spent €241 million on new players during the summer, headlined by a big-money move for Wolves winger Pedro Neto and a €52m swoop for Joao Felix, the latter of which was a particularly controversial move.

A spectacular loan deal for Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho was also struck, with the England winger joining permanently full-time next summer assuming Chelsea finish higher than 15th in the Premier League.

The Blues, meanwhile, have continued to recruit young talent from around the world.

A total of €207m worth of sale were made, with Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall and Romelu Lukaku all leaving for €30m or more.