The January Transfer Window - 2024

[Lineker]

(Here's a Guardian write-up, for those wanting to avoid giving the Mail web traffic): 

Quote

Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of strengthening his squad in January are likely to depend on Chelsea making space for signings by embarking on another clearout.

Pochettino, who has only five victories from his 16 Premier League games, said Chelsea may need to go back into the transfer market after they lost 2-0 against Everton on Sunday. The club have spent about £1bn since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in the summer of 2022, but are 12th after a poor start.

Chelsea brought in 14 players last summer, offset by 15 first-team players leaving permanently or on loan. But they have continued to struggle for goals and will consider buying a top striker, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen high on their wishlist. Chelsea have also been scouting the Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyökeres.

Much could rest on Chelsea avoiding a repeat of their mistake last January, when they left Graham Potter with a bloated squad after signing six players and selling one.

Financial fair play will also be a consideration given they are at risk of missing out on European qualification for the second season running. Funds could be raised through sales.

Pochettino bemoaned toothlessness and a lack of aggression at Everton. He said this was “something to analyse” with the hierarchy and the co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley. Stewart and Winstanley have overseen an ambitious project, focusing on signing young, often unproven talent on long deals.

The club’s co-owner, Behdad Eghbali, has also been influential, although Pochettino has indicated he will have more of a say on transfers.

It is understood Pochettino’s comments have not caused unrest within the club. There are no indications the former Tottenham manager is under any immediate threat of losing his job. Several sources have expressed satisfaction with Pochettino’s early impact and believe he commands the respect of the dressing room.

The Argentinian has had to cope with a long injury list. The new signings Christopher Nkunku and Roméo Lavia have not played a minute of competitive football, and Robert Sánchez, Marc Cucurella and Reece James limped off against Everton. James, the captain, will undergo a scan after another hamstring injury.

Although there is a widespread feeling within Stamford Bridge that results have been worse than most performances, recent displays have left Pochettino seething. He has said his side lack height and feels they need to show more fight. Goals have also been a problem for Chelsea, who have mostly relied on the inexperienced Nicolas Jackson to lead the line.

Chelsea have long held an interest in Toney, who will return next month from his ban for breaching the Football Association’s rules on betting. However Brentford could demand at least £100m for Toney, who is also a target for Arsenal, and there is no guarantee he will hit the ground running after a long spell out.

The England international may also want big wages, which would force Chelsea to move away from their strategy of giving incentivised deals to top prospects. Osimhen was valued at more than £100m by Napoli last summer. Chelsea may decide to hold back on a striker if Nkunku makes an immediate impact once he returns from a long-term knee injury. The France forward was impressive during pre-season.

The possible arrival of a striker may have implications for Armando Broja’s future. The 22-year-old, who wants regular football, recently returned from a serious knee injury and started instead of Jackson against Everton. Broja’s long-term contract could allow Chelsea to sell him for a sizeable fee.

The rapid turnover of players means Chelsea may struggle to find obvious sales next month. The left-back Ian Maatsen was wanted by Burnley and West Ham last summer and has been out of favour this season. Trevoh Chalobah, the centre-back, is unlikely to leave if he fails to recover from a hamstring injury. Conor Gallagher’s contract runs out in 18 months and talks over a new deal have not started but Pochettino does not want to lose the midfielder. Noni Madueke, the winger, has barely featured this season.

Thirty-three players are listed in the men’s squad on Chelsea’s website. Although some are academy prospects, depth is not an issue for Pochettino. He has four senior players capable of playing at left-back, six centre-backs, two right-backs, six central midfielders, four wingers and two strikers. Two of his midfielders, Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo, each cost more than £100m.

The conclusion may be drawn that Pochettino’s issue is with the quality at his disposal, rather than any specific holes in his squad.

 

[Naitch]

I think it's clear we can't rely on James and Chilwell staying fit, so something needs to be done about that. Playing Disasi and Colwill out wide isn't the answer...

I'd be looking to tie Gallagher down to a new contract and loaning out some of the teenagers so that more experienced (and apparently taller?) players can come in to create a more confident engine for the team. The sheer length some of these kids have on their contracts means that loaning them out for development sounds like a good idea, although the Andrey Santos at Forest debacle shows that doesn't always work as intended.

Oddly the player I'm missing the most is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who could quite easily slot in basically anywhere on the pitch. Also he would've brought that height factor we're supposedly missing.

[The Lusophone]

I find the idea Chelsea need a goalkeeper downright hilarious. They've signed four keepers since Boehly came in, all of which have played at least one first team game and still have Kepa under contract still as well. And they don't like any of them? At all? 

[Lineker]

Quote

Chelsea’s transfer strategy is at risk of being undermined with Premier League shareholders set to discuss capping amortisation at five years.

Contract amortisation – an accounting practice of gradually writing off the initial cost of a player over the course of their contract – will be on the agenda when clubs meet on Tuesday and there is a push for the Premier League to fall in line with Uefa on the issue.

There is a belief that the move, backed by some members of the big six, will be voted through but it is likely to face opposition from Chelsea, whose owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, have looked to spread out the cost of transfers across up to eight years. A vote is not guaranteed on Tuesday and could be delayed until a future meeting. A motion needs the backing of 14 clubs to be passed.

A worry for Chelsea will be a successful vote ending with the move being backdated to last summer. The club spent more than £400m on signings then and broke the British transfer record when they bought Moisés Caicedo from Brighton for £115m.

Boehly and Clearlake have handed out eight-year deals since buying Chelsea from Roman Abramovich. That has allowed them to spread payments for transfers over a long period, which helps from a financial fair play perspective. But Uefa closed the loophole last summer, with clubs restricted to amortising deals over five years under its rules.

It remains possible to hand out longer deals but Chelsea would be expected to adjust amortisation if they were in European competition.

The move was not backdated by Uefa. Chelsea subsequently bought Caicedo, giving the midfielder an eight-year deal. The league’s profit and sustainability rules permit clubs to make a loss of £105m over a three-year period, with adjustments made for Covid.

Chelsea posted a loss of £121m in their most recent accounts and are being investigated by the league and the FA after reporting that “incomplete financial information” had been submitted during Abramovich’s tenure. Uefa has fined the club £8.6m over the admission.

 

[Colly]

Now I'm a completely failed accountant (part qualified, hated it, not done it in over a decade), but surely spreading fees over 8 years only helps in the very short term anyway, they're just going to end up with shitloads of players on said daft deals hoping they can get a fee from them? Makes about as much sense as me having a dozen PayPal pay in 3s going at once and wondering why I'm skint...

[Lineker]

 

[Lineker]

 

[gunnar hendershow]

He's only 26? Being at United ages a man...

[Lineker]

 

[Hobo]

I imagine he's not a native speaker but Romano's English always been like that?

Some of those read a little ... odd.

[METALMAN]

Look, Jean Clair Todibo is out camping with some of his friends. I don't see what the big deal is.

[gunnar hendershow]

AI or non-native-speaker is going to be a hell of a game for the next few years.

[Naitch]

Understand AI high on list. Non-native remains also an option.

[Baddar]

That's a pretty standard Fabrizio post, always been like that.

[Szumi]

It's pretty hilarious that Romano tweeted this week about my Philly Union signing out 4th or 5th ranked ST to a new contract this week. Was one of the most random "okay who paid Fab for this" tweets of all time. There's my Romano anecdote while his name is being mentioned.

[gunnar hendershow]

21 minutes ago, Szumi said:

It's pretty hilarious that Romano tweeted this week about my Philly Union signing out 4th or 5th ranked ST to a new contract this week. Was one of the most random "okay who paid Fab for this" tweets of all time. There's my Romano anecdote while his name is being mentioned.

Please tell me he gave it the "here we go".

[Colly]

Transfer window buzzing on the Extreme Warfare Battleground forum! Fans strategizing, fantasy booking reaching peak levels. Drama, rumors, and passionate debates—just another day in this virtual wrestling haven. Romano-esque updates keeping the community on the edge of their seats. The forum, where dreams collide and storylines unfold. #EWBForumFrenzy #DeadlineDayDrama

[Hobo]

2 hours ago, Baddar said:

That's a pretty standard Fabrizio post, always been like that.

I don't pay a huge amount of attention to him. I just saw "AC Milan have asked Barcelona for Clement Lenglet situation for January window." and I thought that sounded very much like "this is my second language" in a way that I hadn't ever picked up on from the few tweets I've seen.

It's also the only one of the posted tweets with that weird phrasing.

 

[Cymbols]

Tough situation for Lenglet. Our European CB, but we’ve not got another game in Europe until March. Hopefully he either stays or we can get another player in, because depth is a bit of a concern. 

[Adam]

Has he really not played a single minute in the Premier League? That's surely an unnecessary squad space, and neither he nor Barcelona will be at all happy with the lack of minutes.