Did Chelsea's Random Strategy Actually Work?

In recent years, many have criticized Chelsea's player acquisition strategy, which appears to be haphazard. Coincidentally, this has coincided with the declining performance of the Blues.

Indeed, as a result of the seemingly random strategy, the club based at Stamford Bridge, London, was fined 27 million pounds (Rp 588.9 billion) by UEFA for violating financial regulations some time ago.

However, despite being random, the transfer strategy has begun to yield results. Chelsea has now returned to the Champions League, won the Club World Cup, and benefited from player transactions. They have also become one of the favorites in the race for the English Premier League title for the 2025/2026 season.

After the transfer of ownership from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, "The Blues" have spent over 1 billion euros on player acquisitions. As a result, in order to comply with the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), they have had to sell the club's hotel assets and the women's team.

Initially, the transfer policy of Boehly and Clearlake was to acquire star players. They purchased players who were already considered seasoned or at the peak of their performance, and if those players were targeted by rival clubs, Chelsea would make efforts to poach them.

Therefore, players such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Mykhailo Mudryk, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Raheem Sterling were brought in during the 2022-2023 season. In fact, they nearly signed Cristiano Ronaldo as well.

However, despite spending around 630 million euros during the two transfer windows, Chelsea has instead fallen to the lower mid-table of the English Premier League.

The next transfer window, which is the summer of 2023, sees Chelsea changing their approach to player acquisitions. They are targeting players with a younger age profile. Chelsea spent approximately 400 million euros.

This time they were more fortunate. Chelsea, among others, was able to bring in two young players who later became the backbone of the squad, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer. They acquired Caicedo even though Liverpool had previously agreed on a transfer with Brighton. As for Palmer, he was obtained from Manchester City.

The strategy continued into the summer transfer window of 2024. They brought in many young players who have considerable experience playing in various leagues. Among them are Joao Felix and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Both acquisitions can be considered failures.

However, with the core squad beginning to take shape through the presence of players such as Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo, and Palmer, the failure to acquire one or two players is not overly impactful. With the arrival of the new coach, Enzo Maresca, Chelsea's performance has improved.

They briefly competed at the top, although later they declined and struggled until the final week to secure their place in the Champions League. Maresca also led Chelsea to victory in the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club competitions. They achieved this with a squad that had an average age of 24 years and 36 days, the youngest in Premier League history.

Ultimately, Chelsea performed outstandingly in the Club World Cup. Reece James and his teammates succeeded in becoming champions by defeating the Champions League titleholder, Paris Saint-Germain, in the final match.

Chelsea's acquisition of young players continues in the summer transfer window of 2025. Among them are Liam Delap (22 years old), Joao Pedro (23), Jamie Gittens (20), Jorrel Hato (19), and they are currently attempting to purchase Xavi Simons (22). Due to the numerous player purchases by Chelsea, several parties have even accused the club of buying players solely to prevent rival clubs from acquiring them.

Chelsea has also been criticized for treating players as commodities. Young players like Cesare Casadei, for instance, were bought and then immediately released without being given a chance at Stamford Bridge. This is akin to a middleman who buys low, only to sell at a higher price.

This strategy seems quite strange considering Chelsea's status as one of the giants in England. Many clubs are willing to accommodate Chelsea players, even if the players are not performing well due to limited playing time. This significantly helps Chelsea from a financial perspective, allowing them to continue shopping without fear of violating the FFP regulations.

Arsenal, for instance, is one of Chelsea's loyal customers. Several players who failed to shine at Stamford Bridge were purchased by "The Gunners." Kai Havertz, Jorginho, Raheem Sterling (on loan), Kepa Arrizabalaga, and most recently, Noni Madueke.

The Arsenal gamble may be based on the history of several former players. A discarded player who failed to shine at Stamford Bridge is not necessarily a bad player.

The best case examples are Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah. Both are young players who did not receive opportunities at Stamford Bridge before moving abroad. After showcasing their talents in other countries, they returned to the Premier League with Manchester City and Liverpool. Football fans surely know what subsequently happened to both players.

By purchasing Madueke for 52 million pounds, Arsenal provided a profit of over 20 million pounds to Chelsea, who acquired him from PSV for 30.5 million pounds. Arsenal also bought the discarded goalkeeper, Kepa, for 5 million pounds.

Not only Arsenal, but other clubs are also interested in acquiring Chelsea's surplus players. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic was purchased by Bournemouth for 25 million pounds. He was previously brought in from New England Revolution for only 14 million pounds.

However, not all players sold have been profitable for Chelsea. Felix, for instance, who was purchased for 48 million pounds, was sold at a loss to the Saudi club Al-Nassr for 26 million pounds. Meanwhile, Dewsbury-Hall, bought for 30 million pounds, was sold to Everton for 29 million pounds.

Chelsea's transfer strategy is akin to casting a net. Among the many players acquired, they hope to secure one or two stars like Caicedo and Palmer, who can elevate the team's performance. Even if the player fails to shine at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea hopes to gain a profit when they are sold. (AP/AFP)