Categories: SPORTS

Chelsea’s transfer approach assessed: £185m spent on 10 signings and 43 players in the squad | Football News

Ten summer signings so far, and £185.4m spent, with more set to come. Twenty players have also gone out the door, with Chelsea dominating the headlines of yet another transfer window.

With new boss Enzo Maresca heading into his first season in charge in west London, Chelsea are continuing to add to what is surely one of the biggest Premier League squads ever assembled.

There are growing questions from supporters over the club’s strategy to return to the top and, here, Sky Sports tries to break down the situation at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea’s Premier League season opener against Man City, live on Super Sunday on Sky Sports (kick-off 4.30pm), just days away.

The squad…

Yet another busy summer means Chelsea have 43 players in their first-team squad.

Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Robert Sanchez*, Djordje Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli*, Lucas Bergstrom.

Defenders: Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill**, Tosin*, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah*, Bashir Humphreys**, Reece James*, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell*, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong**.

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Omari Kellyman**, Cesare Casadei**, Lesley Ugochukwu**, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall*, Romeo Lavia**, Carney Chukwuemeka**, Tino Anjorin*, Renato Veiga**.

Forwards: Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling*, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer*, Noni Madueke*, Angelo Gabriel**, Diego Moreira **, Romelu Lukaku, Nicolas Jackson, David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington**, Marc Guiu**, Armando Broja*, Tyrique George**, Christopher Nkunku.

*Homegrown player **U21 player

Do Chelsea have any issues with the Premier League squad rules?

Every Premier League club will have to submit a 25-man squad after the summer transfer window has closed.

Each squad must have a minimum of eight ‘homegrown’ players – a player of any nationality who has spent three years at any English club academy before turning 21.

On top of the 25-man squad, a club can also register as man U21 players as they like. For the 2024/25 campaign, U21 players will have been born on or after January 1, 2003.

As it stands, Chelsea are meeting their homegrown quota, and have 14 players that can be classed as U21s.

That currently leaves them with four players more than is allowed in their Premier League squad.

Chelsea are hoping to move on Romelu Lukaku in this transfer window, while Trevoh Chalobah is another who could leave after being left out of the squad for the pre-season tour of the USA.

The Blues are also willing to listen to offers for strikers Armando Broja and David Datro Fofana.

Raheem Sterling has emerged as a target for Juventus, according to Sky in Italy, while goalkeepers Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga face uncertain futures.

What’s the plan at Chelsea?

Chelsea are set to be the biggest spenders in the Premier League again this summer.

For a third straight window since the takeover by owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, the Blues have outspent their rivals, signing 10 players, who have a combined average of under 21, for a total of £185.4m.

Since the Clearlake Capital and Boehly takeover, Chelsea have spent more than £1.5bn on transfers, increasingly with a younger profile aimed at future resale value, seemingly stockpiling potential.

This has also been combined with the additions of marquee signings – £106.8m on Enzo Fernandez from Benfica and then £115m for Moises Caicedo from Brighton, both breaking the British record.

They have been able to offset this expenditure with sales. As it stands, Chelsea have a net spend this summer of just over £100m after making around £83m from player exits.

Chelsea’s new owners inherited a pay structure that had players on huge salaries – some over £300,000 a week – so part of their reason for making wholesale changes has been to establish a fairer wage structure focused more on performance-related bonuses than a wage hierarchy.

The club see having a whole group of ‘squad players’ – rather than a so-called pecking order in each position – as more competitive.

How can Chelsea afford that?

This strategy has led to Chelsea selling homegrown players to stay in line with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) as the likes of Mason Mount represent pure profit on their accounts.

Chelsea fans have grown frustrated with seeing players from their academy moved on in favour of less experienced, younger players, many of whom have struggled to make an impact.

Chelsea are also handing out long contracts to their new arrivals, ranging from six to eight years. Initially, this was seen as an attempt to avoid falling foul of PSR, with the cost of transfer fees spread out (amortised) over the length of a player’s deal.

UEFA sought to close this loophole by setting a five-year limit on transfer fee amortisation last summer, meaning a £100m signing on a seven-year deal would still go down as a cost of £20m per year rather than £14.29m.

That has not deterred Chelsea from continuing to offer these long-term deals, rarely seen in football before the Clearlake Capital takeover.

There is, of course, a clear benefit to having Cole Palmer, last season’s Premier League Young Player of the Year, on what is effectively an eight-year deal, as it gives Chelsea security over his future and protects his value.

However, in the case of Mykhailo Murdyk, an £88.5m signing from Shakhtar Donetsk who has struggled since signing an eight-and-a-half-year deal 18 months ago, it leaves Chelsea with a financial predicament.

They will be paying off that sizeable transfer fee and Mudryk’s wages until 2031. Based on his form so far, he is unlikely to be sold for anything close to a profit.

As he is not the only such player – underperforming and expensive – it potentially puts a strain on Chelsea to stay in line with financial rules over the long term.

Chelsea were under no pressure to sell players before the June 30 deadline to stay in line with PSR this season, but Sky Sports News understands they may need to make sales to avoid a breach for the 2024/25 campaign.