Gary Neville has given Chelsea a warning regarding their new ownership structure, suggesting that they could be at risk of repeating the mistakes that were made at Manchester United during Ed Woodward's stint as CEO.
Following the departure of Roman Abramovich, Boehly led a consortium to begin a new era at Stamford Bridge and with seemingly deep pockets, hopes were high for a productive first window under his stewardship. However, he is yet to appoint a senior figure to recruit players, instead choosing to conduct business himself in a similar fashion to Ed Woodward's management of United.
Previously, transfer negotiations were delegated to the experienced trio of Bruce Buck, Petr Cech and Marina Granovskaia but all three left the club earlier this year, meaning that a new management structure must be formed during the busy summer transfer window.
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Despite this, the Blues have been able to complete some business, with the signings of Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling representing impressive business for the West London club. However, they have also missed out on key targets, with Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski all joining Barcelona.
Neville says that the Blues are in danger of repeating the mistakes of his former club, with Boehly too prominent in his role in comparison to his equivalent decision-makers at Liverpool and Manchester City.
Neville told The Overlap .: “Chelsea have got that sort of, Manchester United under the Glazers, Ed Woodward, 'I’m taking over, I’m the man now, I’m going to go out and basically buy the players' and then they’re linked with every player that Barcelona want, every player that City want, every player that United want.
“They’re almost like bouncing around because it feels like he [Todd Boehly] has to do something. I’m hearing his name too much. It feels like, it’s not to be disrespectful, you know he’s a prominent guy, he’s just bought the club and everything.
“He’s fronted a fund that’s paid two and a half billion quid, but to get rid of all that football operation that’s been unbelievable for that many years and come in and do it yourself, it does feel like Ed Woodward that to me. We’ll see it develop.”
Neville accused Boehly of panicking in Chelsea's reported pursuit of United's long-standing target Frenkie de Jong, saying: "He’s wandering around a little bit and they’re a bit panicky now. You’re seeing that they’re in for [Frenkie] De Jong this morning and it feels like he has to do something. That pressure is on him. He wouldn’t have had that pressure if he’d have kept the people that have been there before and just let them operate for a year or two, but it’ll be an interesting season for Chelsea.
“Obviously, they’ve lost a few defenders as well. They might even lose more to Barcelona. I mean, look, let’s be clear, firstly – they’re [Chelsea] reacting to what’s available and what other clubs are doing.”
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