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Chelsea send official transfer message to fans: ‘We’re ready to sign elite talent’

Robin Bairner

Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Chelsea

Ahead of a critical transfer window at Chelsea, Behdad Eghbali has promised that “elite” talent will be arriving at Stamford Bridge, while providing an update on the future of Liam Rosenior.

Since BlueCo took command of the Stamford Bridge club, there has been a focus on signing some of the world’s brightest young talents, often at a premium price.

While there is no doubt that Chelsea have unearthed some gems, including Cole Palmer and Willian Estevao, success on the field has not followed, with the exception of winning the FIFA Club World Cup last summer.

The Blues go into the closing weeks of the Premier League season fighting just to qualify for the Champions League next season, with the pressure ramping up on manager Liam Rosenior following a poor run of results.

Chelsea are not planning on changing their manager, but owners BlueCo are willing to be flexible with their transfer policy, Eghbali announced at CAA’s World Congress of Sports in Los Angeles.

Chelsea need more elite players, Eghbali admits

“For the fans, we care,” he said. “We want the club to be successful. We’re focused on delivering that on-pitch performance. I think six months ago everyone was super-happy. Results have been mixed, disappointing more recently. There’s a full reflection on what we can do better, what we can improve on.

“We’ve got to be better on a few things, to add more ready-made players at this part of the project, to take it to the next level, to be consistent over time.

“We recognise we need balance. We have world champions, we have Champions League winners, we have elite, elite young players. Experience has developed now. The team has been together for two or three years. The objective is to keep your best players, and we’ve done that, and there’s no intention to rebuild every three or four years. You tweak a model, you improve, you learn from mistakes.

BlueCo supremos Todd Boehly (left) and Behdad Eghbali

“Our goal is to have elite, elite players on the pitch, elite characters off the pitch that our fans can bond with, that will be at the club, that will be club legends for the next 10 or 15 years and beyond. I think, generally, we’ve been fortunate, not in getting everything right, but we do have a core of good players, global players. Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Levi Colwill, Estevao Willian, Reece James.

“The view is now that we’re here with a great core base, to add some of that experience, to take the team to the next level and have consistency. That fact is not lost on us, and we’re at a point where we can take that next step, hopefully in the next year and beyond.”

Maresca departure had ‘negative’ impact

One aspect of BlueCo’s management that has fallen under particular scrutiny this season was the decision to part company with manager Enzo Maresca.

Eghbali says this is not something Chelsea were planning, and he admits that the managerial issue is something that has dogged the club throughout BlueCo’s ownership.

“Our policy has been no in-season changes,” he said. “It’s not a change we wanted to make. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.

Enzo Maresca's departure rocked Chelsea

“We still have six matches in the Premier League, and an FA Cup semi-final coming up. So hopefully the story of this season hasn’t been written yet, and you’ve got a lot to fight for. In my perspective, when you get punched in the face, you’ve got to fight back, you’ve got to stand up and fight. And it’s going to hopefully show a lot about the character of this squad.

“I think the perspective is stability, and frankly, getting that stability on the manager side is one of the things we haven’t done right yet, and it’s something we’re striving to improve on.”

With this in mind, Eghbali is willing to throw Chelsea’s backing behind Rosenior.

“On Liam, we had the opportunity to work with him daily for 18 plus months, so we knew what we were getting,” he said. “We think he has every attribute to be successful here. He got off to a great start. We’ve had a tough past five, six matches, but I think we’re behind Liam. Of course, it’s a results business, but we think he can be successful long term.”

Chelsea face Manchester United on Saturday in a crunch Premier League match that will go a long way to dictating their European aspirations for next term.