It has been a strange few seasons for loyal Chelsea fans following the takeover of the club by Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital Group.
We have lurched from the sublime to ridiculous when it comes to on pitch matters but lifted the Club World Cup, and our spending has become both the envy of other Premier League teams whilst also leaving them inherently confused as to how we are dancing on the line of the Profit and Sustainability Rules and regulations We have also been through a series of successive managers quicker than water passes through a sieve.
For fans who like a flutter, all of this means that it is difficult to select the right odds for your match day action so many would have pivoted to casino games like cryptocurrency slots as they looked for something a touch more reliable until Chelsea started to show a bit of greater consistency.
Following Enzo Maresca’s recent departure we are now adjusting to life under former sister club Strasbourg’s head coach Liam Rosenior, and all fans know that the 41 year old former professional fullback has a lot of papers to shuffle in his new in tray.
Whilst Chelsea fans and those in the wider world of football will be wondering how much truth their was to Maresca’s barbs about player use and selections, Rosenior has got his head down and has already overseen a 5-1 away victory to Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup, and in taking the victory, he is the first gaffer since Antonio Conte back in 2016 to pick up an opening day win.
With a solid start under his belt, he has recently admitted that once he finishes juggling the plates that are currently up in the air as he settles into life at Stamford Bridge and our Cobham training ground, one of his first ports of call will be to speak to so called ‘bomb squaders’ Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi. With our spending their wages are a significant drain on our resources and that is before we even factor in their £47.5 million and £38.5 million transfer fees.
Both players remain on the transfer list with the January window open but they are training at different times to the main squad, on a separate pitch and in a completely different building. Despite them both turning down potential loan moves during the summer transfer window, the current situation is not ideal and is certainly not tenable.
Addressing the media after the FA Cup victory Rosenior explained that he was personally huge fans of the talents of both players but he needs to have an honest conversation with them both about what the future holds, and presumably given the honest conversations they have had with others, Rosenior will be hoping his words lead to a far better outcome for all parties involved here.
If the speculation rumour mill in the press is to be believed Sterling has attracted interest from Italian Serie A side Napoli, whilst it is being claimed that both Roma and French Ligue 1 side Lyon are exploring a possible move for Disasi. However, with players already out on loan this campaign it is far from ideal and we would need to cancel an existing loan in order to move both of them on temporarily for the second half of the campaign. Sadly for us, to put it simply no side is likely to pay the valuation we have on them for a permanent switch.
Given his words about assessing talent already inside the building before looking at the transfer market, many fans will wonder if they now do in fact have a future at the club. Time will tell on that one.
