Chelsea are signing experience and that makes sense given their poor record of signing potential and their need to keep up in the Premier League…
“I arrived as a 20-year-old. Today, I leave a man,” Raheem Sterling said in an emotional farewell to Manchester City as he flew out to join his new club Chelsea, who have changed their transfer strategy from Boyz II Men this summer as they attempt to keep pace with Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Sterling will be the leader of Chelsea’s attack, while centre-back concerns look likely to be imminently eased through the arrivals of Kalidou Koulibaly and Nathan Ake. That’s two 27-year-olds from Manchester City, who have won multiple trophies and have a bank of Premier League experience, and the 31-year-old captain of Senegal with 232 Serie A appearances to his name. These are men.
After seasons of stockpiling potential, which in the main has failed to come up trumps, Chelsea are targeting players better equipped to adapt to a new environment through their experiences on and off the field. Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel are building a squad to challenge now, not in two or three years’ time, and news of these arrivals should be music to the ears of Chelsea fans and those who want more than a two-way race for the title.
That’s not to say they will challenge. Concerns over whether Sterling will get enough chances to be as prolific at Chelsea are valid, as are worries over Ake’s ability to be more than a squad player in a Champions League team and Koulibaly’s transition to the English top flight. But there is no more cause for apprehension than Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal, Richarlison to Tottenham, or even Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City. And Chelsea fans feeling uneasy at signing experience over potential need only consider the club’s recent work in the transfer market to allay their disquiet.
It’s comforting to see Timo Werner scuffing his latest attempt at goal past the post and to think to yourself ‘don’t worry, he needs time to adapt’. Or to watch Christian Pulisic run at a defender, lose the ball, fall over and say to the person next to you ‘he’s only 23, he’ll come good’. It gives you, the fan, but more importantly, the players and manager, an out; a way to delay the inevitable final assessment that we all, in our heart of hearts, knew months ago: that it’s The End Of The Road for them at Chelsea.
The experience of these new additions increases the…
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