€500m OVERSPEND - Chelsea's transfer strategy has been a disaster

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 11 Dec 2023 19:59 GMT
• 4 min read

Chelsea’s huge spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership has been widely reported since the American billionaire replaced Roman Abramovich at the helm in 2022.

The Blues had been known for their large investment under Abramovich and that theme has continued since Boehly took charge, with the club’s spending reaching new heights over the past year.

During the 2023-24 summer transfer window, Chelsea set a new record for total spending in a single window - €462.1 million.

The majority of their signings under Boehly have been players under the age of 23, with almost a reluctance to sign anyone older than 25.

Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are the only two players older than 25 to have been purchased by Chelsea since Boehly became owner.

Due to the inflation of the asking price when it comes to young talents, the Blues have spent over-the-odds on almost every new player to have joined the club since 2022.

This transfer strategy has not yielded results on the pitch and Chelsea have pumped the cash in a naive fashion, given the lack of a consistent goal-scorer, an aerially-dominant midfielder, an injury-free and reliable left-back, and a first-class goalkeeper.

What is most worrying, however, is that the Blues have spent far too much money on their current squad.

Except for Christopher Nkunku, Robert Sanchez, Angelo and Sterling, every player signed under Boehly has been purchased for a fee that exceeded their Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) at the time of the deal.

Chelsea’s huge overspend on transfers since 2022-23

In total, Chelsea have overspent by €493.9m since Boehly became owner in 2022, using FootballTransfers’ in-house Player Valuation Model.

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) explained

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world.

Read more here.

Our Player Valuation Model calculates an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) for more than 240.000 players in the world. It uses information on the player's skill, potential, performance, contract duration, position and other statistics to estimate an accurate ETV.

Read more here.

The Blues have been desperate to land the best young talent across world football, but it’s cost them a lot of money to achieve that.

There is a lot of talent at Pochettino’s disposal and Chelsea have far too much quality to continue failing, but the Blues need to whittle down their squad and prioritise the very best prospects in order to ensure their development isn’t stunted.

Otherwise, the huge investment made by Boehly will not pay off.

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