Chelsea’s transfer approach assessed: £185m spent on 10 signings and 43 players in the squad

Ten summer signings so far, and £185.4m spent, with more to come. Twenty players have also gone out the door, with Chelsea dominating the headlines in another transfer window.

With new manager Enzo Maresca set to begin his first season in charge of the west London club, Chelsea continue to build on what is surely one of the greatest squads ever assembled in the Premier League.

With fans increasingly raising questions about the club’s strategy to return to the top, Vscek looks to analyse the situation at Stamford Bridge ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Manchester City, live on Vscek’ Super Sunday (4.30pm kick-off) just days away.

The team…

Another busy summer means Chelsea have 43 players in their first team.

Goalkeepers: Filip Jorgensen, Robert Sanchez*, Djordje Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli*, Lucas Bergstrom.

Defenders: Axel Disasi, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill**, Tosin*, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah*, Bashir Humphreys**, Reece James*, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell*, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong**.

Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, Moses Caicedo, Omari Kellyman, Cesare Casadei, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tino Anjorin, Renato Veiga.

Attackers: Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling*, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer*, Noni Madueke*, Angelo Gabriel**, Diego Moreira**, Romelu Lukaku, Nicolas Jackson, David Datro Fofana, Deivid Washington**, Marc Guiu**, Armando Broja *, Tyrique George**, Christopher Nkunku.

*Local Player **U21 Player

Are Chelsea having issues with Premier League team rules?

Each Premier League club will have to submit a squad of 25 players after the summer transfer window closes.

Each team must have a minimum of eight ‘homegrown’ players – that is, one player of any nationality who has spent three years in an English club academy before turning 21.

In addition to the 25-man squad, a club can also register as many U21 players as they wish. For the 2024/25 campaign, U21 players will be born on or after 1 January 2003.

At present, Chelsea are reaching their quota of homegrown players and have 14 players who can be classified as Under-21.

This means they currently have four more players than are allowed in their Premier League squad.

Chelsea are hoping to offload Romelu Lukaku in the transfer window, while Trevoh Chalobah is another player who could leave after being left out of the squad for the pre-season tour of the United States.

The Blues are also willing to listen to offers for strikers Armando Broja and David Datro Fofana.

Raheem Sterling has emerged as a target for Juventus, according to Sky in Italywhile goalkeepers Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga face an uncertain future.

What is Chelsea’s plan?

Chelsea are set to be the biggest spenders in the Premier League this summer, too.

For the third consecutive session since being taken over by owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, the Blues have outspent their rivals, signing 10 players, whose overall average is under 21, for a total of £185.4m.

Since the acquisition of Clearlake Capital and Boehly, Chelsea have spent more than £1.5bn on transfers, increasingly targeting a younger profile, targeting future resale value, and seemingly stockpiling potential.

Added to this were some prestigious signings: £106.8m for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica and £115m for Moises Caicedo from Brighton, both British records.

They have managed to offset this expense with sales. As it stands, Chelsea have a net summer spend of just over £100m after earning around £83m from player outflows.

Chelsea’s new owners inherited a pay structure that saw players earning high salaries, some in excess of £300,000 a week, so one of the reasons they made radical changes was to establish a fairer pay structure, with a greater focus on performance-related bonuses rather than a salary hierarchy.

The club believes that having a whole group of “team players” (rather than a so-called hierarchy in each position) is more competitive.

How can Chelsea afford this?

This strategy has led to Chelsea selling home-grown players to comply with Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules, as players like Mason Mount represent a net profit in their accounts.

Chelsea fans are increasingly frustrated at seeing their academy players being replaced by younger, less experienced players, many of whom have struggled to make their mark.

Chelsea are also handing out long contracts to their new arrivals, ranging from six to eight years. Initially, this was seen as an attempt to avoid falling into the PSR trap, with the cost of transfer fees spread (amortized) over the length of a player’s deal.

UEFA sought to address this gap by setting a five-year cap on transfer fee amortisation last summer, meaning a £100m fee over a seven-year contract would still be considered a cost of £20m a year rather than £14.29m.

This has not stopped Chelsea from continuing to offer long-term deals, something rare in football before the takeover by Clearlake Capital.

There is obviously a clear advantage to having Cole Palmer, last season’s Premier League Young Player of the Year, on what is effectively an eight-year contract, as it gives Chelsea security over his future and protects his value.

However, in the case of Mykhailo Murdyk, who was bought for £88.5m from Shakhtar Donetsk and has struggled since signing an eight-and-a-half-year deal 18 months ago, Chelsea find themselves in a difficult financial situation.

They will pay that hefty transfer fee and Mudryk’s salary through 2031. Based on his form so far, it’s unlikely he’ll be sold for anything resembling a profit.

Since he is not the only player of his kind (expensive and underperforming), Chelsea may find themselves struggling to meet financial rules in the long term.

Chelsea have been under no pressure to sell players before the June 30 deadline to stay in line with the PSR this season, but Vscek News has learned that they may need to make some sales to avoid a breach for the 2024/25 season.

Chelsea’s Summer Transfer Market

by Kiernan Dewsbury Hall – Leicester, £30 million

Marco Guiu – Barcelona, £5 million

Omari Kellyman – Aston Villa, £19 million

Indeed – Fulham, free

Peter Neto – Wolves, £54 million

Renato Veiga – FC Basel, £12m

Caleb Wiley – Atlanta United, undisclosed

Estevao Willian-Palmeiras, £29.1m

Filip Jorgensen – Villarreal, £20.7m

Aaron Anselmino – Boca Juniors, £15.6m

Out

Alfie Gilchrist – Sheffield United, loan

Chinoso Chibueze – Stoke, undisclosed

Jamie Cumming – Oxford, undisclosed

Michael Golding – Leicester, undisclosed

Lewis Hall – Newcastle, £28 million

Omari Hutchinson – Ipswich, £18 million

Ian Maatsen – Aston Villa, £37.5 million

Charlie Webster – Burton, undisclosed

Hakim Ziyech – Galatasary, undisclosed

Dion Rankine – Wigan, free

Thiago Silva – Fluminense, libero

Josh Brooking – Released

Noah Hay – Released

Ted Curd – Hampton & Richmond, loan

Teddy Sharman-Lowe – Doncaster, loan

Dylan Williams – Burton, loan

Andrey Santos – Strasbourg, loan

Malang Sarr – Objective, free

Eddie Beach – Crawley, loan

Gabriel Slonina – Barnsley, loan

Watch Chelsea vs Manchester City on Super Sunday, live on Vscek; kick-off 4.30pm.