Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos 17, in a Man United kit, during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge, London, England on 13 December 2025 / Chelsea owner Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos 17, in a Man United kit, during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge, London, England on 13 December 2025 / Chelsea owner Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's current transfer model simply isn't sustainable despite making huge profit on Andrey Santos' move to Manchester United.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Blues will be fortunate to "wash their face" with most investments.
Graham Potter was in charge at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea splashed £15million on Santos in January 2023 from Vasca de Gama before loaning him back.
His stock has since rised, leading to Man United splashing £50m on the Brazilian midfielder, and the Blues made a lot of profit on that deal.
Delap and Garnacho both joined on big-money deals last summer, all part of the Blues' transfer model, but the club are now likely to take big hits on each.
Andrey Santos sale has only papered over the cracks
It is understood that Garnacho has caused some issues in the dressing room, with the Blues already open to cashing in after just 12 months.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: "Generally, there's a correlation between performance on the field and the wage bill.
"If you can keep buying players like Andrey Santos for £15m, keeping them for two years and selling them for £50m, then okay.
"That pays for a lot of mistakes, but not every signing works. Not every signing makes a profit. Some of them are complete wipeouts.
"And some of them, they'll be lucky to wash their face. And that's the challenge they've got."
Who else could Xabi Alonso get rid of?
As well as the aforementioned quartet, there are several players that Xabi Alonso could sell to make the squad a more manageable size.
The arrivals of Emmanuel Emegha, Geovany Quenda and Marco Palestra certainly give the manager plenty to think about between now and the new season kicking off.
Thankfully, that is exactly what pre-season is for, but hopefully, Alonso will be able to talk some sense into the cash-happy owners in a new era for the Blues.
Andrey Nascimento dos Santos
Liam Delap
Marco Palestra
Axel Disasi
Graham Potter
Real Madrid Club de Futbol
Xabi Alonso Olano
Chelsea Football Club
Manchester City Football Club
Enzo Jeremias Fernandez
Nicolas Jackson
Malo Gusto
Romeo Lavia
Trevoh Chalobah
Benoit Badiashile
Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra
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