Hmmm… What is Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly cooking?
Even Chelsea fans, though they may not say so openly, are curious about what new owner Todd Boehly is cooking in the kitchen. Edging out Real Madrid’s €321 million spending spree in 2019, according to a list on Foot The Ball, the English Premier League club has now spent €611.49 million in the 2022/2023 transfer window!
However, while the acquisitions may look frantic and even careless, it may have been necessary. Transfer Markt says that during the same period, big names like Timo Werner, Jorginho, Lukaku, Rudiger, Christensen, and others left the club. In fact, there were a total of 21 departures against the 20 new players that arrived according to the transfer monitoring website.
From an economic standpoint, the club recorded huge losses as most of the players who left returned to their old clubs for paltry sums, others were sent out on loans, some left on free transfers, and a few of them had their contracts terminated outright. Chelsea made only a few millions from the sales of Werner, Emerson, Jorginho, and Billy Gilmour.
Of course, the new owner, Boehly, was not looking at his bank balance when he was making the big moves. The money was there for spending and so was the drive to make the necessary deals work. So, what will be the result of this combination of World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, Ukrainian wonderkid Mykhaylo Mudryk, Portuguese superstar Joao Felix, and the rest?
Football, as we know it, is not won on paper. You could have the greatest collection of stars seen since the Avengers assembled, and still be humbled by a struggling relegation team. You could have bought the entire spice aisle at the mall and still have a bland-tasting meal. One thing can guarantee success, though: someone who knows how to mix the ingredients expertly.
Enter Graham “Harry” Potter
Potter was so impressive at managing Brighton & Hove Albion that Chelsea did all they could to bring him on board. The club even forced out Thomas Tuchel, despite the German tactician having won them the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup two seasons prior.
With the English magician at the helm, things started well at Chelsea, but after a 4–1 defeat to his old club, his team has not looked as strong. Sitting in 10th place after 20 matches and earning only 29 out of a possible 60 points, fans are starting to think the manager may be out of his depth.
We have seen this scenario play out a few times, and we know the script by heart: A manager from a lower team takes charge of a bigger team and is unimpressive. His ego is no match for players who make more in a month than he does in a year. He can’t get through to players who have been to more matches, won more trophies, and have more experience. Not long after, he is replaced by a high-calibre coach who has seen it all and can bend any star to his will.
This may not be the script that Graham Potter will follow at Chelsea, but it is starting to resemble it closely. With high-earning players under his tutelage, he may not be the right cook for these ingredients, but time will tell.
Ingredients Take Time to Cook, but Fans are Hungry
One problem with team sports like football is that a single player can rarely produce the magic needed week in and week out. Sure, we’ve seen outliers attempt this, but ultimately, the team that works together usually triumphs, especially in league campaigns.
With 20 new players coming into the club, it will be wise for Chelsea fans to manage their expectations for the rest of the season. Many of these players come from different clubs and even speak different languages. Chemistry on and off the pitch matters, and it may take some time for their true potential to be seen.
But will the fans be patient? It’s hard to see your club 21 points off the top and 10 points away from playing in the biggest club competition. Yet, patience must be learned, or the club management will begin to panic and make too many changes, restarting the process.
Perhaps, Potter will take a page from Erik Ten Hag’s book and keep enough old players for the new guys to learn how things are done. Although, this system looks unlikely as many of the starters are no longer around and some have fallen out of favour with the fans. It will be a spectacle to see how Chelsea lines up from now on, as many of the players who came in arrived with big bucks. No one wants to see them miss out on the action and likely, these players too don’t want to sit on the sidelines.
However, remember that only 10 players and a goalkeeper can be on the field. Many of the signings will have to wait their turn.
Ruthlessness is required like a Chef needs a knife
Already, we have heard that Chelsea dropped Pierre Aubameyang from its UEFA Champions League squad for the remainder of the season to register new signings to show that the club can be ruthless to acheive its goal. While it is bad news for the former Arsenal man that the Blues signed for €12 million from Barcelona, fans should be happy that this club is not taking any chances.
In his place, Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, and even Hakim Ziyech were included in 25-man list.
In a Pressure Cooker!
Finally, the players are facing a lot of pressure. Some, like Marc Cucurella, already understand what it means to play for a big team, as he has faced unhappy fans on many occasions. Enzo Fernandez, who was signed on transfer deadline day, bears the biggest responsibility. His signing allowed the club’s former defensive midfielder, Jorginho, to leave for Arsenal, so he has big shoes to fill.
“But he just won the World Cup” is a different ball game. When playing for Argentina, he was not under scrutiny, at least not until after his brilliant goal against Mexico. Even then, he had players like Messi, De Paul, Di Maria, and others who would bear the brunt of anything that went wrong. Now, he is on his own and will constantly be under the scrutiny of millions of fans and trolls.
The same goes for Mykhaylo Mudryk, who cost €70 million. Already, former City and England’s winger Raheem Sterling is feeling the heat as Chelsea fans are more vocal than his former employers.
These players are in a pressure cooker and it is up to Todd Boehly’s appointed coach to manage them, whoever that may be in the coming months.
The new Chelsea owner, who took over from Roman Abramovich, is cooking something. We can only smell it and tell that some of the ingredients are definitely high-end. When we finally taste it, we hope it lives up to our anticipation!
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Thanks for reading!
