Finance guru: Wave of Chelsea copycats imminent amid unprecedented transfer reveal
Chelsea are likely to inspire a wave of copycats after it emerged that they have a new high-tech system for scouting amateur players.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Blues’ “innovative” method of jumping some of the recruitment hurdles posed by Brexit.
Chelsea have had one of the world’s most productive academies in recent years, with homegrown talent like Reece James, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi all enjoying prominent first-team roles.
But Brexit has meant that they have been forced to abandon signing under-18 players from Europe, a strategy that brought Andreas Christensen and Nathan Ake among others.
Speaking to The i last Saturday (22 October), Chelsea youth recruitment chief Jim Fraser revealed that they have signed a five-year deal with AiSCOUT to help recruit players who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
The platform allows amateur players to upload footage of them completing skill drills and uses machine learning to evaluate them.
Plumley forecasts that Chelsea’s rivals may well follow suit.
“You have to innovate and change the model,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“We talk about digital innovation in football but not necessarily at the amateur level. So, I think it’s smart.
“Chelsea’s academy has been really successful in recent years buying players from Europe. People have been critical of the model but it has generated an awful lot of playing talent for them.
“But with Brexit being a factor, the club has looked to expand into different markets. It’s a new way of thinking that we haven’t seen before.
“More clubs may well start to look at this in the future. It’s less expensive than flying scouts all around the world.“
In other news, insider claims Chelsea set to play “hardball” with N’Golo Kante after “massive” update.