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Chelsea could have saved £222m as Pochettino looks to correct three transfer blunders
Chelsea have splashed the cash over the past 12 months, though they may not have needed to fork out such sums if they were more trusting in their talents.
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Numerous players have left Chelsea and thrived elsewhere previously, with Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne among the most notable transfer blunders. However, with the Blues scouring the market for reinforcements, they could have saved themselves £222million in recent times by trusting their academy.
Cobham has nurtured the development of countless top talents, though in recent times those academy products offloaded to raise funds rather than transition into first-team stars. And with Conor Gallagher the latest to be put in the shop window by Todd Boehly, the trend is showing no signs of slowing.
However, Chelsea must learn from previous mistakes when deciding which academy product to sell next to stay within the confines of Financial Fair Play. The Blues have splashed the cash since the arrival of Boehly at Stamford Bridge, but they could have saved themselves £222million by trusting the players already on their books.
Another Blues blunder has emerged over the past 18 months in the form of Dominic Solanke, who was allowed to leave the club in 2017 as a free agent. The then-teenager did not believe that there was a clear pathway to playing regularly under Antonio Conte and took the decision to join Liverpool instead.
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His stint at Anfield failed to meet expectations, but a move to Bournemouth has got his career back on track – with his hat-trick against Nottingham Forest on Saturday highlighting why he is regarded as one of the most in-form players in the Premier League. Solanke has outperformed Chelsea’s £32m summer signing Nicolas Jackson so far this season, and a move to a title contender in the future will only highlight further how the Blues should have done more to retain his services.
Moises Caicedo was also among those to join Chelsea over the summer, joining the club from Brighton in a deal worth £115m and is slowly starting to showcase why he was made a top target by Mauricio Pochettino. However, his replacement at the Amex Stadium has performed equally as well: Billy Gilmour.
The Scotland international is quickly becoming a stalwart under Roberto De Zerbi with his dominant performances in midfield, and he could be one of the next stars to see their valuation soar on the south coast. Gilmour left Chelsea in 2022 in a deal worth £9m, which could prove a snippet given he was so highly regarded internally by the Blues before being frozen out of the first-team by Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues’ biggest blunder in recent windows may have been allowing Marc Guehi to depart, only to target him as a top defensive target for the summer of 2024. The 23-year-old has thrived since joining Crystal Palace and asserted himself as a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England plans.
With £75m signing Wesley Fofana struggling with injuries, Chelsea appear to be in desperate need of a centre-back in a similar mould of Guehi – though their saving grace of this transfer error may be the ‘first refusal’ clause inserted into his contract.