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Come join us inside the havoc of the transfer window at Chelsea.
Coming up:
😴 Chelsea’s sleepless nights
📊 Salah’s assist evolution
🎓 Creating a Barca wonderkid
👔 Man Utd back Ten Hag
A sleepless summer at Stamford Bridge
The only thing not answered by The Athletic’s forensic look at Chelsea’s transfer window: when did staff inside the club pinch a day to sleep?
The early weeks of the summer were all-consumed by the transition from one head coach to another; Mauricio Pochettino out, Enzo Maresca in. The Premier League window might have shut on Friday, but Chelsea were well into Saturday afternoon before they drew a line under it by announcing Jadon Sancho’s loan from Manchester United.
The wicked get no rest in a sport which only pauses from competitive football for the purpose of playing recruitment games instead. The close-season is a misnomer in nose-to-the-grindstone terms. Chelsea, granted, are intent on making work for themselves, but from day one there was no more eventful window anywhere else.
With three games gone, they’re 11th in the Premier League table with four points. A larger sample of results is required to cast a definitive light on Maresca and Chelsea’s wisdom, but their summer is a scientific experiment: namely, whether a whirlwind of moving parts can maintain clarity of thought.
Some of what went on at Stamford Bridge came as a surprise. Judging by our long read, some of what went on surprised Chelsea themselves. Few articles will paint a sharper image of a window churning from opening time to last orders.
Endless trading
The insight into Chelsea’s dealings goes deep and certain details from the past few months deserve attention:
- Their friendly against Real Madrid in the USA did for Raheem Sterling completely. Chelsea came home convinced that an upgrade on him was essential.
- That decision was so spontaneous that Pedro Neto was completely caught out by Chelsea subsequently paying £51.4m ($65.5m) to buy him. He had zero warning about the offer, nor did Wolverhampton Wanderers.
- Chelsea proposed seven different financial packages to fund the arrival of Victor Osimhen from Napoli. Seven! None of them worked.
- There’s, you know, something slightly odd about the Stamford Bridge ownership agreeing a £34.4m ($45.2m) fee with Atletico Madrid for striker Samu Omorodion — only for him to join Porto for £12.7m ($16.7m) after the Chelsea move fell through.
- Money earned by selling academy products was eye-watering. Between Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall, Ian Maatsen and Omari Hutchinson, Chelsea raked in somewhere in the region of £120m ($158m).
Was Chelsea’s business for better or for worse?
Gallagher et al were a useful cushion against the pressure of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) — pure profit, straight into the accounts. Who knows where the buck stops when it comes to getting the PSR sums right, but good luck to them. The bottom line and the club’s plan for a summer net spend of zero won’t be hurt by winger Angelo Gabriel leaving for Saudi Arabia for £19.4m ($25m) last night.
We’re currently running a survey for subscribers on their feelings about Chelsea’s window and I’m keen to learn the prevailing view about whether the squad is weaker or stronger. I’m inclined to say stronger, but the club’s ever-revolving door leaves you feeling none the wiser.
Mohamed Salah: creator-in-chief
Mohamed Salah is a bona fide Premier League all-timer. He’s in the division’s top 10 for goals scored and at the rate he’s going, he’ll soon knock David Beckham out of the top 10 for assists.
The Egyptian has buckets of natural skill, but he also has a knack of adapting as the years go by. Michael Cox compiled a study of Salah’s evolution over time, based on his long and highly-successful career with Liverpool. It’s pretty striking.
The little things make Salah clever. He was a prolific dribbler when he first went to Anfield. Defenders soon learned to stand off him, so Salah took the initiative again by dribbling less. His creativity took new forms, too, including more use of his right foot (though his left, below, is perennially deadly). His brain is that of a world-class forward.
He might be 32, but Salah is flying again, with three goals and three assists this season. As he reminded the world after Sunday’s win at Manchester United, his contract expires in less than 12 months’ time and it’s not at all clear what comes next.
The answer should be simple. Salah’s still got it. He’s tweaked his game before and if age creeps up on him, he’ll most likely tweak it again. The only sensible step for Liverpool is to bite the bullet and give him what he wants.
News round-up
Barcelona’s talent factory
(Aureli Altimira/Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
Barcelona’s La Masia production line is legendary, as was its success in providing the club with a full line-up of academy graduates for a Spanish league game in 2012.
Such is Barca’s financial strife that they need La Masia more than ever and it continues to thrive. Lamine Yamal is a sensation. He and Pau Cubarsi are Spain internationals at 17. Marc Bernal was taking positive strides until he ruptured an ACL last week. The system has it nailed.
One of The Athletic’s Spanish writers, Laia Cervello Herrero, brought together two ex La Masia directors, Jordi Roura and Aureli Altimira, to chat about its extraordinary output. I picked out a few of the best quotes:
- 🗣 Altimira on coping with the Barca spotlight: “You have to be careful. There’s the entorno. Suddenly everyone is talking about them.”
- 🗣 Roura on the sheer progression of Yamal and Cubarsi: “We have normalised something that is absolutely abnormal.”
- 🗣 Altimira on the demands made of young players by the football calendar: “The schedule is monstrous. The cow is being milked everywhere.”
Around the Athletic FC
(Mateo Villalba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
(Top photo: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC)
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