The spending spree undertaken by Chelsea this season has surprised many. This level of investment – approaching the £500million mark – simply wasn't anticipated from an ownership group that consisted of American billionaires, a Swiss billionaire, a British entrepreneur, and a leading California-based investment firm.
Chelsea appear to have struck gold for the second time in two decades. Under Roman Abramovich, unrivalled success was enjoyed and lavish signings were made. The club's new custodians have invested equally as heavily, although there is a far grander plan than mere on-pitch success.
Todd Boehly and fellow co-controlling owners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano have made little secret of their desire to transform Chelsea commercially; an ambition of generating £1billion in revenue was revealed by Feliciano in October at the Bloomberg Investment conference in New York.
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Success is viewed as vital in achieving that goal, hence the focus on bringing in a number of high-quality and high-potential players. The likes of Gabriel Slonina, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Andre Santos, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke have been signed. New contracts have also been awarded to homegrown stars Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, and Armando Broja.
Naturally, such largess in the transfer market has led to claims that those players coming through the academy ranks at Chelsea would be overlooked once again. It was a consistent source of concern throughout Abramovich's tenure, although one that was temporarily alleviated in the summer of 2019.
It was in that summer Chelsea served a transfer ban and Frank Lampard – then the club's head coach – opted to promote James, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham into the first-team squad. Several other debuts were handed out to the club's own and a fourth-place finish in the Premier League was achieved.
However, with money to spend ahead of the 2020/21 season, Chelsea appeared to revert to type with a number of players recruited and inserted into the first-team squad. And rather telling, in the following campaign overseen by Thomas Tuchel, the Blues did not field a single teenager in any of their Premier League games.
Tuchel's hesitance to trust talented youngsters was, according to The Athletic, a source of tension following the Boehly/Clearlake takeover. Given their desire to sign players under the age of 23 – something reaffirmed during this month's transfer window – that is perhaps no surprise. Nor was his departure from the club at the start of September.
Yet Boehly and Clearlake are not just looking outward, their focus is also on the talent being developed at Cobham. It's understood the Chelsea owners view the club's academy as one of the best in the world – and they have highlighted privately how many players have left the club and established themselves across Europe.
Boehly and Clearlake want to ensure there isn't a repeat talent drain. It's why efforts are being made to keep Chelsea's brightest young players at the club.
Early discussions have been held with Levi Colwill, currently on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion, over a new long-term deal. Meanwhile, football.london understands Chelsea are close to agreeing a new contract with Charlie Webster, who had interest from clubs across Europe, while Dion Rankine is also expected to stay on until 2025.
"[It's important] you figure out how to make the academy – that is so top – collaborate with the first team," explained Boehly at the Salt Conference in September. "You need to show players the pathway and you teach them about how you’re thinking about the future."
Boehly and Clearlake have a grand long-term vision for Chelsea – and a key factor in that is the academy. Lewis Hall's involvement in the first team in recent weeks, despite having only recently celebrated his 18th birthday, is proof homegrown stars will be given opportunities. And then, as it has always been, the challenge is to take them.
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