While commentators have spent the last critiquing and chastising Todd Boehly's comments on the potential for a relegation tournament and North vs South All-star games, the Chelsea owner's vision for how he sees the Blues progressing has almost been overlooked.
Of course, the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel in addition to a number of other structural changes at Stamford Bridge has seen Chelsea begin to be moulded into the form Boehly and Clearlake Capital want. Immediate success is wanted but perhaps not required, with process and integrated communication seen as key to moving the club forwards.
As Boehly noted at the SALT conference, they want to find the best talent and provide them with 'the right resources' and to ensure there is an idea of collaboration. That notion appears to go beyond Chelsea itself, in the hope of solving issues that the Blues have moving forwards.
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Boehly said at the conference: “We’re going to be continuously adding resources. We’ve talked about having a multi-club model. I would love to continue to build out the footprint. There are different countries where there are advantages to having a club - Red Bull does a really good job with Leipzig and Salzburg, both of which are playing in the Champions League. So they’ve figured out how to make that work.
“You have Man City that also has a big network of clubs. The challenge that Chelsea has right now, or at least one of them, is when you have 18/19/20-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to clubs, but you put their development in someone else’s hands.
“So our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time. And for me, the way to do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe.”
It's an ambitious plan and from the beginning of the takeover, youth seems to have been at the forefront of the mind's of Chelsea's hierarchy. The west London side's academy has proved itself to be among the best in the world with the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James making the first team, though figures such as Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori, Tino Livramento and others have chosen to leave to discover their pathway. It appears Boehly hopes to make that route clearer, without having to rely on other clubs.
The efficiency of the club developing its own talent seems to be appealing and there has been little time wasted in investing within the set-up. Nobody is more synonymous with the Cobham-based academy than Neil Bath, Chelsea's Head of Youth Development, and he appears to have been backed to the hilt.
While the club has developed it's own talent well in recent years, Chelsea made some high-profile signings in the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Omari Hutchinson, Eddie Beach and Zak Sturge, while Bath appears to have convinced those above him of how youth fits in with the system overall.
Upon the purchase of the club, the owners noted: "Along with our commitment to developing the youth squad and acquiring the best talent, our plan of action is to invest in the Club for the long-term and build on Chelsea’s remarkable history of success."
Those elements appear to mesh together.
Bath, who first joined the club in 1993, has pioneered the club's Vision 2030 strategy, which is a long-term plan to ensure Chelsea can tackle the changing landscape. This has already seen the club target non-league more effectively - Mason Burstow spent time on trial while playing for Maidstone United - while this summer has seen players arrive from Southampton, Brighton and Arsenal. These routes are perhaps more targeted as a result of Brexit.
Bath was able to present the project to the new owners in a series of meetings, and has since worked closely with Boehly. The implementation of Vision 2030 is one of Bath's biggest priorities and the prospect of multiple club ownership, not only allows for greater development of players but also perhaps locations where youngsters could ply their trade before being eligible for a work permit to arrive at Chelsea.
Even with this cohesiveness and the arrival of Graham Potter, Chelsea's structure is not yet complete. Boehly has taken on the role of interim-sporting director and there is still an intention to hire a new one. A potential candidate was in attendance at Stamford Bridge, albeit due to his role with the opposition.
Christoph Freund has already worked within a multi-club structure at Red Bull Salzburg and seen young forwards Erling Haaland and Benjamin Sesko come through the club. The Austrian side's Sporting Director has already conversed with Chelsea's new owners over a transfer, but with similarities in dealing with Brighton over Marc Cucurella, it appears that Boehly has endeavoured to discover more information.
Following his side's draw with Chelsea, Freund told Sky Sport Austria: "I've had exchanges with Chelsea from time to time. We spoke more often a month or two ago because they were interested in [Benjamin] Sesko. The new owners are interested in how we do it with young players, how we integrate them into the first team. But you do that again and again with other clubs – that's it.
"Chelsea is a huge club in transition. I can't say exactly what will happen in the next few weeks and months. You should never rule anything out in football and Chelsea are such a huge club. But I'm sports director in Salzburg and I really enjoy it."
The prospect of American influence entering the Premier League has seen much criticism levelled at Boehly, characterising him as someone who has not been in the country long and is looking to change the footballing pyramid. However, most of what the ownership has invested in appears to be with the view of a long-term pay-off, and the future of Chelsea has been set out.
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