TA long article reveals the Blue Army summer window insider: crazy aid, Sterling, "bomb squad"...【hongyan】

    Chelsea is undoubtedly one of the biggest focuses of the summer transfer window, before the trade deadline, Chelsea introduced about 10 players; There are also Gallagher leaving the team, Osmayne failed to make the trip and so on... The Athletic have published a long article revealing the inside story of Chelsea's summer window. The following is the full text of the TA ↓

    Chelsea transfer window insider: Sancho and Felix join, Osmayne failed - and 'Bomb Squad'

    Sancho

    It is fitting that Chelsea should make another last-minute announcement in the 2024 summer transfer window.

    At 7.30pm local time on Saturday, nearly 21 hours after the deadline for signing English players, Chelsea officially announced their last signing of the summer - Sancho joining Manchester United on loan until the end of the season, including a mandatory buyout agreement.

    In the last major deal in the Premier League (clubs can still sign free agents and also sell or loan players to some overseas leagues with slightly different deadlines - the Saudi League, for example), Sancho was presented to fans ahead of Sunday afternoon's game against Crystal Palace. He then took a seat in the stands with Chelsea co-owner Massimo Egbali. Chelsea's 1-1 finish at Stamford Bridge will leave fans wondering early on whether all the money they have spent over the past three months (around £219m) is being spent where it is most needed.

    Sancho's transfer was completed in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, thanks to an extra two-hour extension provided by the Premier League (the original deadline was 11pm UK time on Friday), but the club's official announcement took longer.

    Some fans wondered if something was wrong.

    One of the reasons for the delay in the official announcement is simply that the Premier League needs time to complete the signing due to the large number of "whistle blowing" documents they receive (nine deals across the Premier League). Chelsea will also need time to bring Sancho to their training base in Cobham, south London, for all the internal media coverage that is customary with any major signing these days.

    Sancho, a Londoner who has been a Chelsea fan since childhood, expressed his excitement. "It's the last day of the transfer window, so a bit of madness is to be expected, but I'm really glad it's all settled." 'he said.

    "Crazy" is perhaps the right word to describe everything that has happened at Stamford Bridge since the opening of the club window, and the club are truly delighted with Sancho's arrival. There is no loan fee for the move and Sancho is expected to be paid between £20 million and £25 million next summer, depending on what he and Chelsea have achieved by then. Considering that Manchester United paid £72.6 million to bring in Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in July 2021, the price is undoubtedly a big deal for Chelsea. One reason Chelsea waited until the last minute to make a decision was that Manchester United had initially asked for £40m; However, as the deadline approached and the issue remained unresolved, United listened to lower offers.

    Chelsea paid him part of his £250,000-a-week salary and Sancho agreed to the sort of incentive contracts that most players have signed since the Burley Consortium took over.

    Clearly the presence of Joe Shields, the director of recruitment, has been instrumental - having brought Sancho from Watford to Manchester City in 2015 when he was scouting manager at City's southern English academy, played a part in persuading the 24-year-old to leave Old Trafford and join Chelsea.

    Given all the speculation surrounding him, perhaps at some clubs, Sancho's arrival will be the headline news of the summer. But Chelsea have dominated the headlines over the past few months and are mentioned almost every day. Chelsea do more business than any other team in the Premier League. Huge sums of money were spent, and that's not to mention - despite all their efforts and the dramatic pursuit of Osmayne, they ultimately failed to bring in a top-class striker.

    The Athletic spoke to several people with knowledge of Chelsea's summer transfer situation, who chose to remain anonymous to protect their relationships. They helped provide a summary of the summer transfers...

    Ollis, Neto and Sterling

    Chelsea are not the first club to learn something after losing to Real Madrid.

    The Blues have been looking for ways to boost their attack and Chelsea, who lost 2-1 in a friendly against Real Madrid in the United States on August 6, did not suddenly change their plans. But the course of the game was a timely reminder that they were on the right track and that they wanted to strengthen more than just the forward line - more on that later.

    The club decided to buy a left winger and a right winger in June after discussions with Maresca. This intention to strengthen the wing was first reflected in their attempt to bring in Aulis from Crystal Palace in July. But because Bayern Munich offered the Frenchman more than £200,000 a week, the Chelsea hierarchy were not prepared to match that figure because it did not fit with their wage structure, especially given Palmer's low salary - he was very good in the Premier League in 2023-24.

    The Blues continue to discuss goals. What happened against Real Madrid really reinforced the determination that something had to change. After all, the pre-season work was four or five weeks in, and the individual performances of the players were being closely monitored.