The recently concluded window completes what was seen as the final chapter of management’s four-window plan to totally overhaul the playing squad inherited from previous ownership and set the club up for long-term success in its own right .
However, many fans still feel dissatisfied with the makeup of the team which they see as incapable of dominating the league for years like Manchester City at the end of the 2017/18 summer transfer window.
We take a look at ‘The Chelsea Project’ and try to explain what it may entail and what fans can expect after limited direct communications from the owners.
First, there is an attempt to hard reset the game team. The game of football is simple: the team with the best players wins the game. Although this doesn’t always happen in every game, over the course of the season the team with the best players wins the titles.
Recruitment was also a crucial success factor in the Roman Abramovich era, but back then the club’s equation was: buying consistent stars (finished items) with reliable production equals titles. The equation for the Clearlake/Todd Boehly era is: talented young players with high potential and sufficient playing time (a developmental pathway) equals consistent stars with reliable production which then equals titles . The idea seems to be to bring them in before they become superstars demanding high transfer fees and salaries, to give them game time to develop at the club or on loan, to watch them become superstars at the club and win titles with them. The end goal seems to be the same, but the starting point is different.
Not surprisingly, these younger, relatively inexperienced players are more willing to accept highly-incentivized contracts where they earn a low base salary, which has allowed the club to significantly reduce its wage bill. The continued recruitment of even younger players to join the team at a later date also seems to suggest that the club wants to have a treadmill of talent that refreshes the current squad with even younger talent to develop at each window of the season. transfer. The formula once again appears to be to sign very high potential youngsters at low upfront costs and develop them into finished articles – the growth of Bukayo Saka from a young left-back with talent and d ‘incredible potential during the 2019/20 season in a high performing position, the consistent right winger at Arsenal is an example. Furthermore, the club’s recruitment focus appears to have shifted from buying big names to buying “player profiles” needed by the team, which was most exemplified by the signing of Renato Veiga.
While some of the above sounds exciting, there seem to be some problems with this approach. Even if we completely ignore the fact that this has never been done before at a big club like Chelsea with the ambition of winning trophies, the young players can only boast of one thing: their potential. However, potential is only one of the ingredients needed to succeed as a top soccer player, as many things can happen in a player’s development that will eventually see a high potential player have a very average career. Just look at names like Anwar El Ghazi, Lewis Cook and even former Chelsea youngsters like Jeremie Boga, Josh McEachran and Gael Kakuta who were all youngsters with very high potential, but ultimately turned out to be players average, with banal performances. careers in some cases. In other words, there is no guarantee of future success when purchasing high potential players.
Another problem with this strategy lies in the club’s specific decision to stockpile young talent. This threatens the second part of the recruitment equation, which is providing a development pathway for these youngsters, as the number of international loan places is currently limited due to new FIFA rules. This means that many bright talents like Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka and Deivid Washington have been unable to secure a loan despite not being in the first team plans, effectively causing the club the time of the supporters, who will have to wait a little longer for these talents to become constant players and achieve reliable success on the field.
Another flaw that can be noted is the fact that the young players recruited are all at the same stage of their development and it is therefore inevitable that some will see their development hindered by others. Consider this in contrast to what is happening at Real Madrid where youngsters like Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Aurélien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Junior, to name a few, are being brought into the team to grow under the shadow of more experienced stars like Karim Benzema, Toni. Kroos and Luka Modric. Then they take on these roles after years of shadowing older players. In fairness to the new ownership, this may be the plan over the past few years as the current team matures over time, but that remains to be seen.
Although we can see that this strategy has its problems, it has also brought some positives. The first that immediately comes to mind are reports that the club has cut its wage bill by up to 70 percent. There was also the discovery of incredible talents like Malo Gusto, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer, who no Chelsea fan could have predicted the level of impact he would go on to have. It is not inconceivable to think that Palmer will now cost double the price paid for him last summer if the club wants to sell. He is also gradually evolving into a player with superstar status in the mold of Didier Drogba, who is currently cited by almost every Chelsea target as an idol growing up and as the main attraction among them wanting to play for Chelsea. If Palmer continues down this path, it is not inconceivable that we could see the same effect – this time with younger players citing him – when the club attempts to attract high-quality players in the future.
Less than a week before the return of the Blues 🥳
🎥 | @ChelseaFC #CFCSocial | #CFC
– The Chelsea Social (@TheChelsSocial) September 8, 2024
Even after considering the pros and cons of the current approach, some questions remain unanswered: Is the club now a destination club or a sales club? In other words, does the club end up retaining and using the developed players in its quest to win trophies or does the club sell them to make a good profit? One piece of evidence that suggests the former might be the desired approach is the new contracts offered to Palmer and Jackson after their stellar debut seasons. It could be that as players demonstrate superstar abilities on the field, the club will have no problem paying superstar salaries. This not only motivates players to prove their worth on the pitch, but also helps the club when it wants to sell a player.
Another unanswered question is whether the project will ultimately work. Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel said after the opening day defeat to Manchester City that the club always made sure to freshen up the successful and star-studded Chelsea team he was part of with even better players – not high-potential youngsters – to help them. a continued push for silverware every season. Can the strategy of replenishing the squad with very talented young people produce the same effect? One thing is clear to all Chelsea fans: the club must start winning again. This season’s cup competitions provide the club with a solid opportunity to start winning silverware again. Furthermore, qualification for the Champions League is non-negotiable because, along with the titles won, this is important to attract quality players to the club in the future who will continue the cycle of victories and make the Chelsea brand even more more attractive.
Ultimately, Chelsea fans will wonder if this project can bring them lasting success and dominance on all fronts. As expected, opinions are divided on this subject, because while some already believe that the project is a failed experiment waiting to be realized, others are more optimistic that the club will become the new Real Madrid in a few years. Either way, they and the wider football world can only wait to see what ultimately becomes of this bold and daring project.
Written by: Somutochukwu (@the_somuto)
Edited by: Harrison Burridge (@hburridge2)
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