Chelsea: Is it time to give ‘disruptors’ some credit?

Cole Palmer is the poster boy for Chelsea, but other star players like Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella are now delivering on high price tags.

Pedro Neto scored three goals in three consecutive games at the Club World Cup for the first time in his senior career, while new signings Joao Pedro and Liam Delap have been bright in their first matches for the club.

Players like Benoit Badiashile, Christopher Nkunku and, to a lesser extent, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, show that not every transfer has been a roaring success.

However, Chelsea have been good at selling players – as highlighted by the sale of unsuccessful £45m signing Joao Felix to Al-Nassr for £43.7m this summer.

Noni Madueke generated £52m, Djordje Petrovic was sold for £25m and Ishe Samuels-Smith left for £6.5m this summer.

Sales like these balance record-breaking purchases worth £1.6bn by this ownership. About £600m, not including potential sell-on clause revenue, has been made and recent club accounts show an English record of £152m banked for player sales from the 2023-24 season.

There remains a high net spend of about £1bn in three years, but Chelsea’s owners say these stay on the balance sheet and represent an “investment”.

The much-criticised approach of offering up to 10-year deals to players has also given Chelsea increased bargaining power when selling players, renewing contracts or simply keeping their wage bill down in the longer term.

There is noise that Caicedo, arguably among the best midfielders in the world, is angling for improved terms on his contract signed in 2023 – but that still runs for a further six years and negotiations have yet to formally begin.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland signed a nine-and-a-half-year contract – and, as the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.