Exclusive: Chelsea to now flog bomb squad to Saudi Arabia – ‘Perfect sense’
Chelsea will look to make the most of interest from the Saudi Pro League and sell their unwanted players to the Middle East this summer.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that European clubs will specifically target sales that will send their players to the SPL.
Chelsea are riding high after claiming the title of champions of the world, thanks to their 3-0 win over PSG in the Club World Cup final.
However, the Blues find themselves in a precarious position financially.
Chelsea were handed a record-breaking fine by UEFA for failing their financial rules, and sold their women’s team to themselves earlier in the year to avoid a sanction from the Premier League.
The West London club have been busy recruiting this summer, signing over £200million [transfermarkt] worth of players, including Joao Pedro from Brighton and Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
But with further sanctions from UEFA on the horizon if the club continue to fail to comply with their rules, selling unwanted players on bloated contracts will likely be a priority in the coming weeks.
Chelsea target SPL moves for unwanted players
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley outlined the sort of business he expected Chelsea to do this summer.
When asked about the futures of outcasts such as Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling, the senior lecturer from Sheffield Hallam University highlighted Saudi Arabia as a potential landing spot.
Plumley said: “You’re looking at clubs that need to sell that we’ve talked about, particularly some of the Premier League clubs, they’ll also look to target that market as well for sales. It just makes perfect sense.
“And if you think it can squeeze a little bit more out of the transfer fee, as we’ve seen, then you would actively look to do that as well.
“Of course, the player remains key in that, there’s still the player side of it, but I think both scenarios are likely there that we’ll still see Saudi clubs look to invest in talent from the European market and likewise will look to see the European market, try and sell to Saudi clubs.”
Sterling previously rejected the opportunity to move to the SPL [MailOnline] and is keen to continue his career in Europe.
But with few, if any, options presenting themselves the England international may look to take advantage of interest from the Middle East to resurrect his career after a difficult loan spell with Arsenal.
SPL preparing Chelsea, Europe raid following CWC
Plumley previously told Football Insider that he expects the SPL to conduct a raid on Chelsea and other European clubs, following the culmination of the CWC.
The league has endured several setbacks in their pursuit of high-profile stars this summer. Bruno Fernandes rebuffed Al-Hilal, Mohamed Salah committed his future to Liverpool and Victor Osimhen is on the verge of signing for Galatasaray permanently.
And as the window draws on, it seems increasingly likely that instead of going for world-class superstars, the SPL may look to sign more available targets from teams with bulging squads and an incentive to sell.