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.
Chelsea's transfer business this summer
In
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - Leicester, £30m
Marc Guiu - Barcelona, £5m
Omari Kellyman - Aston Villa, £19m
Tosin - Fulham, free
Pedro Neto - Wolves, £54m
Renato Veiga - FC Basel, £12m
Caleb Wiley - Atlanta United, undisclosed
Estevao Willian - Palmeiras, £29.1m
Filip Jorgensen - Villarreal, £20.7m
Aaron Anselmino - Boca Juniors, £15.6m
Out
Alfie Gilchrist - Sheffield United, loan
Chinoso Chibueze - Stoke, undisclosed
Jamie Cumming - Oxford, undisclosed
Michael Golding - Leicester, undisclosed
Lewis Hall - Newcastle, £28m
Omari Hutchinson - Ipswich, £18m
Ian Maatsen - Aston Villa, £37.5m
Charlie Webster - Burton, undisclosed
Hakim Ziyech - Galatasary, undisclosed
Dion Rankine - Wigan, free
Thiago Silva - Fluminense, free
Josh Brooking - Released
Noah Hay - Released
Ted Curd - Hampton & Richmond, loan
Teddy Sharman-Lowe - Doncaster, loan
Dylan Williams - Burton, loan
Andrey Santos - Strasbourg, loan
Malang Sarr - Lens, free
Eddie Beach - Crawley, loan
Gabriel Slonina - Barnsley, loan
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