Plenty has been made of Todd Boehly and Chelsea's attempts to play things differently to most in the past nine months. Be it deemed scattergun, uninformed or outright disrespectful, the approach has ruffled feathers in almost every camp.
Fellow clubs are frustrated at the spending tactics or lack thereof in the eyes of many. Pundits are baffled by the sheer volume of players acumulated and fans of opposition clubs are laughing whilst the immediate results worsen. The gambles taken so far are yet to pay off and it reflects poorly on the new owners.
Having seen American tycoons come into other sides and be less visible, involved and out there, Boehly/Clearlake's public stance is brash, bold and largely unpopular. It is still results on the field that dictate how Chelsea fans feel overall but the transition has been far from smooth from the previous regime to now.
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Abandoning all sense of Roman Abramovich's model, or again lack thereof, proved controversial and only looks worse as the season plays out. An important thing to note is that the drive to make such vast changes so quickly is to take a short-cut in transitioning rather than cause pure chaos, as it looks from the outside.
After their second 100-day review - the first culminated in the sacking of Thomas Tuchel - the house looked more in order and in-line with a modern footballing structure. There was a director of football, new recruitment team and transfer strategy based on data and youth.
They are all relatively undeniable aspects, though the struggles of Graham Potter and his team on the pitch make it all very questionable. The rulebook has been ripped up and fans that have witnessed 19 years of success with a different method are extremely uncertain about the new ways.
Perhaps the biggest visible footballing change to the Chelsea structure is how contracts are being dealt with. It is, in no uncertain terms, an American way of working. Five players have deals that will keep them at the club into the 2030s whilst an extra two are on contracts longer than the more standard five year term.
Academy graduates Reece James and Armando Broja joined that list over the summer whilst Trevoh Chalobah is also tied down. This is not only for financial benefit and player security but it also allows for more time to work on negotiations. Since taking over there have already been two high profile departures of players that ran down their deals, costing Boehly/Clearlake tens of millions.
According to Transfermarkt Antonio Rudiger was worth £35million as Real Madrid picked him up for free in 2022 whilst Andreas Christensen was valued at £30million himself. Both prices are less than Chelsea would have been able to get for them should their contractual position been stronger. Heading into January 2022 there was no aim to let either move on.
Unlike Jorginho last month, who was likely to move on in the summer for free anyway - making his £10million move to Arsenal a 'win, win, win' according to Potter - Chelsea wanted their players to stay and certainly didn't want to get no compensation in return.
The same mistake, which came from the Abramovich era, will not be repeated again. N'Golo Kante is closing in on a new deal to keep him at Stamford Bridge - another player that could leave for free in the summer despite a lofty valuation in the European market just 12 months ago.
The real player of interest is Mason Mount. As a two-time player of the season at the club he is, despite current form, an integral part of the squad. He is one of the few with experience at Chelsea and carries intangible qualities valued by every coach that has been in charge of him.
His deal expires in the summer of 2024 but little progress has been made in extending that. It hasn't been for the want of trying but no agreement has been reached. Mount is now expected not to engage in talks until the summer, where there are two options. He either signs an extension or he is sold.
The very simplicity of this is remarkable, one year ago and selling Mount would not have been on the table, now it is a real possibility. It is not just a financial thing either. Mount is less interested in the long-term mega contracts, baseball style, that Boehly/Clearlake are offering. This is the first time that their brazen approach has been publicly turned down, so to speak.
However, being open to selling Mount, as the club are, isn't something that would come as a shock to American sports followers. The data led approach indicates that selling players at their peak is a sign of a sustainable club. If a team cannot afford to sell its best player at their most important stage then it is not in good order.
Manchester City, who have sold Leroy Sane, let go of Joao Cancelo and allowed Premier League winning goalkeeper Joe Hart to move on in the past five years are a fine example. Over the summer Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko all moved on regardless of their importance to winning four titles in five years.
Their drop off this season can be used as evidence against this tactic but they were also quick to allow Ferran Torres, David Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Danilo, Eric Garcia, Brahim Diaz and a host of other first team and squad players leave, having success throughout.
That is the level of ruthless model Boehly and Co. plan on creating. It doesn't mean sacrificing a player and making a point of Mount, but the businessmen won't bend to the will of their employees in this case. Whilst it may be a new thing for Chelsea, who tend to hold onto assets more than sell, it may not be uncommon in the future.
The plan is never to allow the good players to go but if an offer was to come in which came close to Mount's valuation - around £65million - then it won't be a surprise should he leave. The last time Chelsea offloaded their best player Eden Hazard departed for £100million and the team recovered with young players in a transfer ban.
If the same method can be intergrated smoothly then Chelsea's plans with or without Mount may well be brighter than it currently seems.
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