One week in August best captures the unpredictable nature of Chelsea's summer transfer window, during which over 25 players make a full roster The Premier League has come and gone through what has become the most expensive revolving door in football.
The week in question began with Lewis Hall agreeing a new Chelsea contract and giving midfielder Tyler Adams treatment, but ended with a deal being negotiated for Hall's departure, leaving Adams in limbo.
< p>Adams underwent a medical examination on the same day that the news of Liverpool's attempt to intercept Chelsea's attempts to sign Moises Caicedo was exclusively revealed by Telegraph Sport, causing panic among the population. the club's base in Cobham, where co-owner Behdad Egbali was camped.
Egbali, who is also co-owner of Clearlake Capital, was informed all summer that Brighton would not settle for Caicedo for less than £100m, but was determined to buy the Ecuadorian for less and «win» the talks until Liverpool dropped the deal. into Chelsea's plans.
Faced with either the loss of a player who had been his number one target from the first day of the window, or a payout of £25m more than he had hoped, Egbali put all his efforts into saving Caicedo's transfer, which he eventually did, concluding UK record deal of £115 million.
The Adams deal was hastily canceled for reasons that have not been made public or disclosed, while the strategy for Hall, who was to join Krystal Palace on loan for this season after signing a new long-term deal with Chelsea has changed quickly. /p>
Chelsea perfected the turnaround this summer, also initially telling Pierre Aymeric-Aubameyang they would demand a fee for him before allowing the striker to leave for free and eliminating the possibility of a second consecutive loan spell for Romelu Lukaku. loan him to Roma for the next 10 months.
Chelsea have found only a partial solution to the question of what to do with Romelu Lukaku. Photo: AP/Alfredo Falcone
Egbali — this claimed to have struck a deal for Hall with Newcastle co-owner Mehrdad Godoussi, with whom he is said to hang out at the exclusive Twenty Two club in London's Grosvenor Square, which at least made sense in terms of trying to comply Financial Fair Play.
Hall's departure has sparked dismay and disappointment at Chelsea's famed academy, amid concerns that domestic graduates are too easily seen as a bonus on the balance sheet, despite the new contract handed over to Levi Colville and the decision to make Captain Rhys James.
< p>If some fans were scratching their heads over this strategy, head coach Mauricio Pochettino must have been spinning by the time Chelsea agreed to make Cole Palmer their last first-team player this summer, causing them to spend one transfer window exceeded During his time in North London, Tottenham have paid more than 11 windows
After news broke that beloved Christopher Wyvell, who was confirmed as the club's technical director last December, was placed on gardening leave, Chelsea spent the summer highlighting the importance of joint sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart.
Some people outside the club unkindly refer to the pair as assistant sporting directors, referring to the hands-on approach of Egbali and Todd Boeli, who first took over as sporting director last summer.
Winstanley and Stewart have undoubtedly played a prominent role in the business this summer, with the former Brighton player laying the groundwork in a matter of months that ensured Caicedo turned down a move to Liverpool in favor of waiting for a bigger Chelsea offer and played a key role in signing striker Nicholas Jackson, which seems like smart business.
Defender Axel Disasi quickly arrived from Stewart's former club Monaco after Wesley Fofana was sidelined for an extended period. Co-CEO of Recruiting and Talent Joe Shields oversaw the move for Romeo Lavia and was involved with Winstanley in the move of Palmer, whom he knew from his Manchester City days.
Signing Nicholas Jackson already looks like a smart move on Chelsea's part. Photo: Getty Images/Darren Walsh
It's less clear if any of the three were involved in Michael Olise's doomed move, which ended when the attacking midfielder signed a new deal with Crystal Palace after Selhurst Park threatened to transfer Chelsea to the Premier League. /p>
Chelsea insisted that they acted fairly in attempting to activate the Olise point, but it was alleged that the Blues were actually wrong about the terms of the point, which the player would need to activate themselves.
< p>Chelsea insisted that they acted fairly in attempting to activate the Olise point, but it was alleged that the Blues were in fact wrong about the terms of the point, which the player would need to activate themselves.
Chelsea insisted that that they acted honestly in trying to activate Olise's item.
In any case, it was an unfortunate episode that underlined the opinion of one source who said: “There are no normal transfers at Chelsea. There seems to be some kind of story or some kind of drama associated with all of them.”
This may also have contributed to a sense of paranoia surrounding Palmer's move, which was kept a closely guarded secret from most members of the club. employees, not to mention outsiders, right up to the point at which an agreement was reached with City.
Despite Chelsea's desire to attribute the transfer business to Winstanley, Stewart and Shields, Egbali's influence has undoubtedly increased from last summer, which was almost perfect in the photographs of the 47-year-old Iranian sitting in front of Winstanley and Stewart. at the London stadium during Chelsea's defeat by West Ham United.
A source who spent the summer at Chelsea told Telegraph Sport: «If last year was Todd Boeli's summer, this was Behdad Egbali's summer. Todd made a lot of deals last year when he had to become sporting director, but Behdad looks to have taken his place in transfers this year.”
Unlike Boeli, who has become the public punching bag for everything. something has gone wrong, Egbali is trying his best to keep a low profile, but it's getting harder for a man who seems to like to put his hand on every pie.
It was Egbali who was said to have been adamant that Lukaku would not keep Chelsea on loan for a second summer in a row, but turned down £23m and £26m offers from Inter Milan before the Belgian effectively sabotaged any hope of that step, flirting with Juventus, and then decided he didn't want to go to Turin.
Cole Palmer lifted the UEFA Super Cup to Manchester City this season the shirt will appear early. Credit: Getty Images/Alex Caparros
Being cornered by Lukaku, Egbali and Chelsea deserve credit for renegotiating the 30-year-old's contract as part of his temporary move to Roma to guarantee him a significant pay cut and now in he has a £37 million release clause in his contract. deal if he succeeds in Italy.
That's not to say Boeli has completely escaped the transfer hype this summer, as it was the 49-year-old billionaire who flew to Saudi Arabia to broker what could prove to be Chelsea's free release card, using his business contacts with some of the the most influential operators in the country.
Boeli was believed to have originally negotiated a fee for a five-man package deal that would see Lukaku, Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly move to Saudi Arabia, though Chelsea insist all player negotiations were handled separately.
Lukaku nevertheless immediately intervened in any planned package deal by dropping Al-Hilal, but Mendy and Koulibaly did move to Saudi Arabia, much to the annoyance of Gary Neville, who hilariously demanded an investigation into the Premier league. .
As Neville later became convinced, Chelsea were not the only club to benefit financially from the rise of the Saudi Professional League, but Boely's quick work to secure the sale of Mendy and Koulibaly provided the club with unexpected wiggle room.
Once the strategy in relationship between Hall and Adams changed overnight, Chelsea quickly reversed course with their goalkeepers, allowing Kepa Arrizabalaga to join Real Madrid on loan
On the eve of the Premier League season, just a day after as Pochettino warned new player Robert Sanchez that the Spaniard would start the campaign as his first choice.
Sanchez moved to number one immediately and Chelsea started trying. Finding a suitable replacement included calling former Tottenham goalkeeper Pochettino Hugo Lloris before, apparently on the recommendation of Ben Roberts and with Egbali's blessing, he decided to sign Djordje Petrovic from MLS New England Revolution club.
Pochettino was unlikely to know much about his new number two, just as he apparently knew nothing about midfielder Leslie Ugochukwu, who was signed by Chelsea from Rennes, as he remarked: «This is a player from France, and perhaps , they will sign a contract with the club.» the idea of giving credit. That idea apparently also changed when Ugochukwu started the season at Stamford Bridge.
As far as Chelsea leaving, the club has taken an unconventional path, allowing players to join four of its six main rivals — Mason Mount at Manchester United, Kai Havertz at Arsenal, Mateo Kovacic at Manchester City and Hall at Newcastle.
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount left Chelsea this summer. Photo: Getty Images/Stephen Pond
Mount talks threatened to stall when United accused Chelsea of reacting to offers through the media before informing them directly, but ultimately an initial fee of £55m was agreed, allowing both clubs to claim they got what they wanted.
Arsenal, City and Newcastle are said to have been delighted with the speed and ease with which the deals for Havertz, Kovacic and Hall were agreed, which may not necessarily be what Chelsea want to hear.< /p>
Galatasaray, apparently, is also very pleased. give Ziyech on loan with the option to turn him into a permanent transfer at the end of the season, with Chelsea guaranteeing any fee only if certain conditions were met.
Despite some exaggerated fees and ups and downs along the way, “ Chelsea achieved what they set out to do early in the window by getting rid of all the players they didn't want or didn't want to be at Stamford Bridge and got most of their top targets.
For this, Egbali and its athletic directors are to be commended for their gigantic efforts. But Chelsea fans should hope that the revamped team will be much more predictable on the pitch than the club was off the pitch during yet another crazy transfer window.
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