Bestiechi 1 year ago

Chelsea at risk of repeating £58m transfer mistake if Mauricio Pochettino sanctions summer deal

Chelsea cannot afford to lose yet another young English talent this summer and repeat past mistakes under previous ownership as football.london's Bobby Vincent writes

In the summer of 2020, Chelsea sanctioned a transfer that really divided the club's fan base. The Blues agreed for academy graduate Fikayo Tomori to move to AC Milan on loan and a £30million (£25m plus add-ons) clause was included in the deal to make it permanent at a later date.

A graduate from Cobham, full of potential and promise, allowe

Man City overtake Chelsea as England’s fourth most successful club

Guardian Nigeria4 hours ago

Manchester City have overtaken Chelsea as England’s fourth most successful team following their Champions League win, writes dailymail.co.uk.

City secured their first ever major European title with a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan on Saturday night, as Pep Guardiola earned his third victory in the competition.

In doing so, they completed the treble, having won the Premier League and FA Cup earlier on this season.

They became just the second team to do so, after rivals, Manchester United, in 1999, and moved up the list of England’s country’s most successful clubs with the win in Istanbul.

City now have 26 major trophies to their name, overtaking the Blues’ 25, and they are now hot on the heels of Arsenal, who have 31.

The club was short on trophies before they were taken over in 2008, and success began to come thick and fast.

Under Guardiola, the club have won five Premier League titles in the last six years, having previously lifted the title under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.

They have, however, won 10 major honours since they were first investigated over financial breaches, with a Champions League, four Premier Leagues and five domestic cups to their names.

The club is currently being investigated over 115 charges of alleged Financial Fair Play breached, but they have maintained their innocence since the first charge.

The charges relate to alleged breaches over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 and goes on until 2018.

Pep Guardiola has pledged to be at the club next season, though called for a conclusion to the investigation to arrive soon.

Chelsea, meanwhile, won their last trophy in 2021 when they beat City in the Champions League final. Since, however, their form has slid, and they appear some way off lifting another title.

Liverpool remain top of the list with 45 titles, though Manchester United closed the gap this season after winning the Carabao Cup, and now sit just two behindd to leave for a fee that can be considered as fairly modest in today's inflated transfer market. The season before, Tomori was in and out of the team – making 22 appearances in all competitions – under Frank Lampard, where he really made his breakthrough in the first team after an impressive loan spell at Derby County.

The now 25-year-old's rise at Milan has only showcased Chelsea's lapse of judgement to a wider audience and the same can perhaps be said about Tammy Abraham. Similarly, the former Chelsea academy graduate was allowed to leave on a permanent deal to Italy, where he has flourished for AS Roma over the past two years.

Abraham was sold for £34m – again, not too expensive for a player full of potential. The 25-year-old England international's form and performances under Jose Mourinho has seen him strongly linked with a return to the Premier League and even the club where it all started, Chelsea.

Now, two and three two years on, respectively, since Abraham and Tomori switched England for Italy, Chelsea are at risk of repeating their past mistakes under previous ownership. AC Milan are interested in signing Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, football.london understands, with the Blues open to the midfielder leaving the club on loan.

However, reports in Italy suggest that Milan are keen on inserting a clause in the loan contract where they would have the option to make the deal permanent at a later date. Although, at this early stage of proceedings, a source has told football.london that Chelsea would not be willing for such an option to be included in a loan deal as they still view Chukwuemeka as a player with a potentially massive future.

At this stage, it doesn't look like such mistakes will be repeated but Chukwuemeka needs to have a conversation with someone high up at the club this summer, regardless of if he leaves on loan or not, about what his future holds. Similarly to before Levi Colwill left on loan last summer, it's understood Chelsea held a positive meeting with the defender where they informed him how much of an asset he is to the club and how he will feature in their plans for years to come.

Incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino has worked wonders with players who operate in similar positions to Chukwuemeka in the past. See a certain Dele Alli at Tottenham, for instance, and everyone involved will be hoping Chukwuemeka will be able to produce similar results in the coming year.