Following another hectic summer for Chelsea in which players have been purchased at a rate rarely seen before in conjunction with the bombsquad and issues between Todd Boehly and private equity giant Clearlake Capital, things do seem to be settling down on the playing side of things for the club. Enzo Maresca’s messaging seems to be getting across to his new Chelsea squad. 3 wins, a draw and a loss cleared some of the mist around the club for now. We had the pleasure of catching up with former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin to discuss the club’s approach to player contracts as well as his thoughts on the divisive Mykhailo Mudryk and the club’s injury ravaged captain Reece James.
In this article:
- Chelsea’s amortisation Tactics Are Nothing New
- Mudryk’s Chelsea Future Hangs In The Balance
- The Bomb Squad Drama
- Generational Reece James’ Injury Woes Continue
Chelsea’s amortisation Tactics Are Nothing New
Chelsea have been criticised for their enormous transfer spending and giving 7+ year contracts to players. It’s an approach which is aimed at distributing the costs of big-money transfers over a longer period to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. For example, Mykhailo Mudryk signed an 8.5-year deal, Wesley Fofana signed a 7-year contract and Enzo Fernández signed an 8.5-year contract when joining the club. In accounting terms, amortisation refers to gradually writing off the cost of an asset over time. This approach allows clubs to spread the transfer fee across the entire duration of the player’s contract. Is the criticism of this approach justified or are outside observers missing something?
“You often find in football people think they’ve come up with a new idea but this is very, very old. There was a manager in Scotland called Jim McLean and a team called Dundee United. He used to try and get players to sign ten year contracts. As an 18 year old that sounded like a lot of money but by the time you get to 28 and if you’ve been successful, it’s not a lot of money. I was a chairman of the players union and we did not like that as it plays around with the players rate and them getting a fair rate for their abilities.”
Recently, Chelsea Chelsea were able to announce thay Cole Palmer had signed a two-year contract extension until 2033. The creative attacking midfielder/forward was reportedly earning £80,000-a-week – and according to the latest reports – he will now pocket a bigger weekly wage around £130,000. Potentially making him one of the clubs highest earners. And if Palmer has anything close to the season that he had last year, he may be seeking further new turns from Bohely and Clearlake.
“The difference now is these are big wages the players are getting paid but getting players like Cole Palmer on an 8 year dead might seem good now but if he continues to improve as he has in the last year, it won’t seem like a lot of money. They can try and stick the players to that contract but good luck with that. That’s not what happens. Or has not happened until now. We may end up seeing the hard side of Clearlake and they may say tough luck you’ve got a contract.“
As with most things in life, for every positive or positives, there’s the other side of the coin. It’s the balancing act of life. Nevin is quick to remind Chelsea that the downside of the contracts Chelsea are handing out is that not all players go on to fulfil their potential. He also points out that footballers are never too far from a potential detrimental injury.
“The downside of the contracts that long for the club is players get injuries and they may not keep improving. How many players aged 22 have looked brilliant and they’re gone by 25. That could be injuries, form or they’ve gotten so wealthy the hunger is gone. Maybe they peaked early so there’s a financial danger in doing contracts this way. From a British point of view it looks high, high, high risk. I think it is high risk.“
Mudryk’s Chelsea Future Hangs In The Balance
Following another busy summer in the transfer window for Chelsea which culminated in the Blues signing Jadon Sancho on loan with an obligation to buy, the future of Mykhailo Mudryk is uncertain. In terms of the club’s wide option they now have Pedro Neto, Sancho, Noniu Madueke and Cole Palmer competing for what would be two starting positions. Nevin feels as though as things stand Mudryk is at the back of the queue when it comes to Maresca’s wide options.
“I think Mudryk is in a difficult position where he was bought for a huge amount of money and was one of Clearlake’s first big decisions and moves when they took over Chelsea. He hasn’t done as well as people would have hoped. There’s no pretending. He now finds himself at the back of the queue in that position and it’s a long queue ahead of him now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started thinking quite quickly if Chelsea is the right club for him.”
Mudryk arrived at Chelsea with an exciting reputation following his time at Shakhtar Donetsk, but he has struggled to replicate his form from the Ukrainian league in the Premier League. Questionable decision making alongside adapting to the pace, physicality, and tactical demands of the Premier League has proven tough.
“Problem is who is going to pay the same money? I can’t see it. In fact there’s no chance anyone will pay that sort of money. So Chelsea are looking at a loss already. Who’s going to pay those wages? Again, difficulty. Which comes back to the original thought on these long and big contracts to young players in the hope they come good. If it were me, I would want to play football and I would take a drop in wages to play football. Especially if I was getting paid that sort of money.”
The Bomb Squad Drama
One of the other talking points around Chelsea has been the quote on quote bombsquad which saw the likes of Trevor Chalobah, Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher ostracised from the first team squad. Nevin has warned Chelsea that the idea of having a bombsquad could come back to bite them as players will be wary of how their teammates have been treated.
“Maybe he doesn’t feel that way. Maybe he will sit and get paid. Something happened at Chelsea during the summer which was deemed the bomb squad. In my day they were called lepers. Which again is quite offensive.
“We saw it with the likes of Gallagher, Chilwell etc. Mudryk and others must now be looking over their shoulders and wondering if they’re next. It affects different players differently. The way some players were treated in the summer can have a bad effect because everybody knows it either will be me soon or will be me one day. And players know that. These are their friends. Mudryk is in a dilemma at the moment and I can’t see him getting a game before a number of the players in front of him.”
Generational Reece James’ Injury Woes Continue
Meanwhile, it’s been a tough start to the season for Reece James having been ruled out with another hamstring injury. The right back has dealt with recurring injuries throughout his professional career which includes knee Injuries, hamstring issues as well as thigh and ankle troubles. Nevin believes James is one of the greatest talents of his generation but as many do, he remains concerned with the recurrence of injuries that have hit James.
“Reece James is one of the great talents of his generation. I don’t say that lightly. He really is. Not at Chelsea, not in England but genuinely in football. He had the chance to be one of the great of his generation in his position. It’s just injuries and it’s sad that it’s been a long time. It’s been quite a few seasons where he’s not been able to play regular games. There’s a sadness where you don’t know what he’s going to come back like. Will he be as agile? Players hate being called injury prone. It’s not their fault. Prone makes it sound as if it’s their fault and it’s not. He’s been so unlucky. We’ve all been changed by injuries. Especially long term, serious injuries.”
James’ injuries have had a considerable impact on Chelsea’s defence and overall structure. James at one point was a key part of Chelsea’s attacking play, often providing width, crosses, and goal-scoring opportunities from deep positions. With the regularity at which James picks up his injuries, Chelsea saw a need to bring in fellow right back Malo Gusto.
“There’s nothing wrong with his hunger or ability. We need to find out about the body when he comes back. If the body is good and back to normal then great. It’s been a concern for a long time. You couldn’t go past him. Nobody. He was like Superman in terms of his physicality. Creating good crosses and chances as well. He will be a great help to Chelsea.”
Malo Gusto was signed for roughly €30 million and loaned back to Lyon for the remainder of the 2022-23 season before joining Chelsea for the 2023-24 campaign. His arrival was a move to address the availability problems Chelsea have faced with James. Nevin has been impressed with Gusto and is desperate to see him make a return to the starting line up.
“On the other hand, Malo Gusto has been fantastic. I wouldn’t say they don’t miss Reece James but they’ve got a great replacement there. However, right now Disasi is playing and he’s not a right back. Full stop. There are certain positions that can change. If I played on the wing and a centre back came out to full back to defend against me I would close my eyes and play it was so easy. It’s a different and very specific position and there are some centre backs that can do it. Reece James can play full back and centre back. Some players can’t do it at a high level and it’s nothing against Disasi but they need Gusto and James back.”
