Chelsea spends $ 284 million in one summer with no hoped-for return
Despite the $ 284 million spent this summer in order to strengthen its ranks, Chelsea have so far been unable to achieve the expected return from the deals concluded at a time when coach Frank Lampard's team continues its defensive suffering after scoring 9 goals in 5 matches so far in the Premier League.
It was a coincidence that the London team, who is in seventh place in the league, 5 points behind leaders Everton after five stages, started their campaign in the Champions League against Seville, Spain, which is considered an example to follow in terms of how to manage matters in the transfer market and remain competitive even after abandoning His most prominent stars.
Chelsea was one of the most active teams this summer in the transfer market, including the Germans Timo Werner, Kay Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Moroccan Hakim Ziyech and Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, in addition to the veteran Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, who moved to him as a free player after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ended.
In light of the economic crisis imposed by the outbreak of the new Corona virus after it was suspended last season for many months and then forced the teams to play behind closed doors after the appeal, teams like Real Madrid did not dare to make any major contract, while Barcelona sought to reduce financial burdens by abandoning About some players, such as Uruguayan Luis Suarez, while the German giants Bayern Munich signed one deal with Leroy Sané despite the money he received as a result of being crowned champion of the Champions League and the domestic league and cup competitions.
But Chelsea and its Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich did not care about the financial crisis and spent generously in the transfer market, without changing the status of the team that starts its career in the Champions League without being among the candidates to compete for the title, especially after the Premier League started with only two wins in five matches. , While conceding three goals in two 3-3 draws against West Bromwich and Southampton.
The London club focused its attention on offensive reinforcement, forgetting that the team was struggling in defense and the most prominent evidence was that it had received 63 goals in 43 matches in the Premier League so far, led by its former player, Lampard.
There are indications that Werner and Havertz, who scored at the weekend for the first time in the Premier League, will understand well in the front line of the London team, whose striking power will be strengthened with the return of Ziash and American Christian Pulisic from injury.
But there is a fundamental problem haunting Lampard, represented by the last defensive line and the most expensive goalkeeper in the world, Kepa Arisabalaga, who continues his fatal mistakes, most recently against Southampton in a match during which Lampard's team advanced 2-0 and 3-2 before settling for a draw with a deadly goal in overtime.
Two different economic models
Lampard may find himself forced on Tuesday to include the Spanish goalkeeper, since newcomer Mendy may not recover in time from an injury he suffers.
Kepa's case illustrates the two very different economic models between Chelsea and Tuesday's opponents in Group E of the Champions League.
Just two years after he paid the penalty clause to obtain the services of the Spanish goalkeeper from Athletic Bilbao for 72 million pounds, Chelsea found himself forced to spend 20 million pounds this summer to sign Mendy from Rennes.
On the other hand, Sevilla is accustomed to selling his best talents without affecting his status as one of the strong clubs in the old continent, and even his record at the European level during the past seven seasons is much better than Chelsea despite its very modest budget compared to the London club.
The credit for this is mainly due to his four European league titles during these seven seasons, the last of which was in August, when he removed from his way Roma, Wolverhampton and Manchester United, England, to Inter Milan, who lost to the Andalusian club in the final.
Even Bayern, champions of the Champions League, struggled with coach Julen Lopetegui's team and needed an extension to beat them in the European Super Cup match last month.
And in a recent interview, the sports director of the Andalusian club Munchi considered that "Seville has created a parallel world of happiness for the masses in these difficult times" imposed by the outbreak of the new Corona virus.
But while downplaying hopes that it would be possible to compete for a first title in the Spanish League since 1946 despite the struggles of the giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, Monchi highlighted the huge financial gap that Seville must bridge.
"We bear in mind the moment when we can progress, which is when we reach revenues of around 300 million euros," he said.
The revenues of the 2018-2019 season, in light of the absence from the Champions League, amounted to 206 million euros only, and Chelsea spent more than that in one summer, but this does not guarantee success in tomorrow's match at Stamford Bridge, Tuesday.
The defeat of the local league on Saturday with a single goal against Granada in a game that he completed almost midway with ten men, the first for Lopetegui in 90 minutes (without two extra games) since February.
And the Andalusian team has already faced difficult tests this season, whether in the European Super Cup against Bayern or in the league when Barcelona was forced to draw in their stronghold "Camp Nou", and therefore will not fear Tuesday to face a team that was unable to overcome the hurdle of teams such as Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.
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