Chelsea's
profit-making transfer window is further proof of Financial Fair Play at
work, according to expert David Bick.
The £26m-plus deal for Juan Cuadrado was the biggest on deadline day, but
Chelsea recouped that amount and more with the sales of Andre Schurrle and
Ryan Bertrand.
And Bick told Sky Sports News HQ the January figures at Stamford Bridge and
elsewhere reflect UEFA's restrictions on indiscriminate spending.
"Chelsea deserve a lot of credit," he said. "They're doing what Manchester
City have already done which is to balance the books. I think the aggregate
numbers show Jose Mourinho in his new spell has spent around £70m (net) and
recouped around £170m."
Premier League clubs spent £130m on new players during the window, according
to analysis by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, who reported a similar
figure last year.
Bick said: "What we can see is a clear pattern emerging - roughly a flat
amount of money being spent.
"I know you've quoted about £125m, but the net spend was about a third of
that at £40m. That mirrors what happened in the last two years since clubs
knew FFP was coming in. There's absolutely no doubt it's having an effect."
Crystal Palace were the busiest Premier League club, bringing in seven new
players, but it was a quieter window at some of the other clubs threatened
by relegation.
Aston Villa, Burnley and Hull signed four players between them, while QPR's
only significant deal was a loan move for West Ham's Mauro Zarate.
Rangers owner Tony Fernandes sanctioned 11 deals over the course of the
club's last two January windows in the Premier League, but the five players
recruited at the start of 2013 failed to prevent relegation that season.
Bick said: "Going down is going to cost upwards of £100m, even after
parachute paymernts, with the loss of media income, season ticket,
merchandise and sponsorship revenue. It's a big number.
"Having said that a number of clubs have learned from the QPR experience
that spending a lot of money doesn't necessarily keep you up.
"There are eight or nine clubs in the mix - even though Palace have done a
lot of business they haven't done a huge amount of business for value."
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