'It's a mid-table squad!' Former Chelsea star BLASTS Boehly's transfer strategy

James Shearman

• Updated: 14 Sept 2023 21:06 BST
• 3 min read

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has been heavily critical of the Blues' transfer business under new owner Todd Boehly.

The QPR player, who played for Chelsea between 2015 and 2017, says that the club are now unrecognisable compared to under the previous regime.

“What has happened to Chelsea FC? I remember being in the dressing room around world class players. Buying from Real Madrid, buying from Barcelona, buying from Bayern Munich, [now] it’s like buying from Brighton and buying potential players,” Begovic told The Byline.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

“I get you need a part of that but where is the world class players? Chelsea fans expect the best, we were talking about this before but Chelsea was the standard, from top to bottom, that Roman and Marina had, the first team squad was a joke, the standard was unbelievable.

“These players at [Mauricio Pochettino's] disposal, it’s a mid table squad, this is not Chelsea Football Club. I don’t understand, you don’t see Man City rebuilding. Even if they are, they are 5th or 6th at worst, which isn’t even good enough.”

And Begovic isn't the only person to criticise Chelsea's recruitment, as the majority of pundits believe that Boehly's methods are destined to fail.

The American's plan was to sign several exciting prospects in each position so that the squad will be littered with top talent in a few years' time, once they develop.

But there is no guarantee that these players will develop. In fact, very few have shown much promise so far.

Only time will tell whether this route to success is a viable one, but it's not looking good for the 12th-placed Blues.

Chelsea's signings under Todd Boehly

Chelsea spent €612.5m in the 2022-23 season and €464.1m during the 2023 summer transfer window. This makes a total of almost €1.1 billion.

The west London club have raised €312.9m through player sales since Boehly became owner, resulting in a net spend of over €700m.