Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues sent FFP warning; Moises Caicedo backed to shine, and more - September 5, 2023
Chelsea have been quite busy this summer, bringing in a plethora of new faces. New boss Mauricio Pochettino will be expected to break into the top four of the Premier League this season.
Meanwhile, the Blues have been told that they're dangerously close to FFP trouble. Elsewhere, mifielder Moises Caicedo has been backed to reclaim his best form at Stamford Bridge.
On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on September 5, 2023:
Chelsea sent FFP warning
Super agent Jon Smith has warned Chelsea that their recent transfer strategy could land them in trouble with FFP norms.
The Blues have been very busy this summer, spending around to £450m on new players. They even broke the British transfer record to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion.
In his column for Caught Offside, Smith outlined how the club have been playing with fire in the market.
"Looking at Chelsea, they’re getting around this (FFP) at the moment by amortising their costs. They’re signing Player A because he’s a good player, and they’re happy to pay £100m for him.
"They’re saying, right, Player A, you’re going to be here now for eight years, which means that £100m now is amortised over eight years, as opposed to four/five which is a normal contract," wrote Smith.
He continued:
"Of course, Player A wants to make sure that he’s paid commensurately, so that he doesn’t miss out in seven years time, which means Chelsea are having to inflate their wage bill at the same time and are getting perilously close to those FFP barriers in the process."
He concluded:
"If Player A doesn’t turn out to be a good player, and they have to sell him after three years, they’ve either got to swallow a huge loss, because his value will have gone down and no one else will pay his wages, or he has to sit in the reserves and collect £120,000 a week. It’s a dangerous game."
The London giants have been on a spending spree since Todd Boehly took over the reigns last summer.
Moises Caicedo backed to excel at Stamford Bridge
Journalist Dean Jones reckons Moises Caicedo would come good at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea saw off stiff competition from Liverpool to sign the Ecuadorian midfielder this summer on a British record £115 million deal. However, the 21-year-old has endured a difficult start to his life in London.
Jones told Give Me Sport that Caicedo is feeling the weight of his massive transfer fee.
"I'm sure that Caicedo will get up to speed and that he will be a good signing for Chelsea. But I don't think there's any denying that his early performances have been below par," said Jones.
He continued:
"A problem that he's got now is that he's got a £115m price tag attached to his name, and with that comes a certain expectation of the levels of his performance, and he hasn't been meeting them.
"It's not even that he hasn't been meeting them generally. It's that he's been making errors and also not been doing things that are expected of him."
The Blues also signed Romeo Lavia from Southampton to strengthen their midfield this summer.
Blues in talks for Gabriel Moscardo
Chelsea are locked in talks with Corinthians for Gabriel Moscardo, according to Itatiaia.
The 17-year-old midfielder has caught the eye with the Brazilian club, prompting the Blues to enter talks to take him to Stamford Bridge. They're not the only suitors eyeing the talented Brazilian, with Manchester City also in the mix.
However, the London giants have offered the most alluring package for the teenager, reported to be around €21-25 million. They have also included an option to loan back the player to Corinthians till the end of 2024.
The player will be available for a transfer out of the South American nation in January, as he turns 18 by the end of this month.