Souness ridicules Boehly for having ‘trousers taken down’, as Chelsea chief ‘learning hard way’ about transfers
Graeme Souness has ridiculed Todd Boehly for having his “trousers taken down” during the transfer window, as he’s “learning about football the hard way”.
Eyebrows have been raised at just how much money Chelsea have spent since Boehly has owned the club. In just two transfer windows, their spending has surpassed £500million.
What’s more, their January spend has been reported to have eclipsed that of La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 combined.
It’s frankly ridiculous for a club to have spent that much more than entire leagues put together.
Whether or not they needed to recruit all the players they have is a question in itself. Indeed, they brought in four forwards in January, after signing two in the summer.
That means they now have more than 10 players to choose from that are capable of playing in the front line.
Of course, they can’t be expected to include every single one in each squad. That has already seen them have to make a big decision in their Champions League squad.
The rules are that only three new players can be added to a team’s squad for the remainder of the tournament. As such, only Joao Felix, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez were chosen.
What’s more, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who only signed in the summer – was dropped from the squad.
Souness questions Boehly recruitment
Souness has questioned the recruitment process of Chelsea under Boehly. Indeed, the pundit feels that the club have paid too much money on some players, using the British transfer record they paid for Enzo Fernandez as an example.
“Who on earth is advising Todd Boehly at Chelsea?” Souness told the Daily Mail.
“He might be an American investor with extremely deep pockets who fancies his chances as a Premier League high roller, but who is actually providing intelligence and assessment on the value of the players he is buying?
“When it comes to Fernandez, Chelsea have paid a premium on top of a premium on top of a premium. A premium because it is the Premier League calling. A premium because it is Chelsea. A premium because they want this player now.”
Indeed, the pundit seemingly feels the Blues could have got him for cheaper down the line. However, that they showed they were so keen to land him in January meant Benfica could demand his release clause.
Boehly having ‘trousers taken down’
Souness pulled no punches in his assessment, as he feels Boehly is being taught a lesson in his foray into football club ownership.
“Boehly is the latest super-rich businessman learning about our football the hard way and having his trousers taken down when it comes to transfer dealings, by not knowing the value of the players he is buying,” he added.
Clubs will no doubt get wise to it if the owner continues sanctioning deals for massive fees.
As such, everybody who does business with the Stamford Bridge outfit will demand they pay top dollar. The club will hope their owner is a little bit more reserved in his approaches in future.
While they’re getting quality players, they’ll get taken advantage of if they continue in this vein.
