Former Newcastle target Mykhalio Mudryk completed his £88.5m move to Chelsea over the weekend, but it seems their January business is anything but over.
Since then, it’s emerged that PSV winger Noni Madueke is also on his way to Stamford Bridge, with his £29m arrival set to take their spending to just shy of £500m since the summer.
In addition, The Athletic have revealed that they’ve also lodged a £55m bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo – a player Newcastle have ‘watched extensively’ – so it’s clear Todd Boehly has no intention of putting away his wallet anytime soon.
Newcastle was accused of ‘buying safety’ when £95m was spent in our first transfer window under new owners. Chelsea has spent almost five times that in six months, yet they sit 10th – closer to the relegation zone than Man City in second – and appear to have none of the Financial Fair Play worries currently restricting our spending based on the way Boehly continues to splash the cash.
We’ve heard Roman Abramovich cleared their debt just before he sold up and appreciate that Chelsea has been pulling in superior figures from a commercial perspective – an area Mike Ashley totally neglected on Tyneside. However, it seems our top four rivals are finding loopholes in what’s proving to be a pretty flawed FFP system. It doesn’t add up.
They’re handing out unprecedented eight-year deals to ‘spread out the costs’ of their mega-money moves. They could rack up a quarter of a billion bill on January transfer fees alone should Caicedo become the latest player to sign and their wage bill must be a sight for sore eyes; something FFP is meant to take into consideration.
They’ve also had some abysmal trading periods where huge losses must’ve been filed, selling flops like Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, and Alvaro Morata for a fraction of the £200m paid for all three.
When Saudi investment arrived on Tyneside, we were told the days of ‘Man City style’ takeovers were over. Don’t get me wrong, our ambitious yet measured approach has been brilliant to watch and has worked wonders so far – just look at the league table. But I do question whether FFP regulations really are fit for purpose when you see Chelsea spending like a bored 14-year-old who has been let loose on the new FIFA.
Here’s a reminder of the deals they’ve secured since the summer:
So, while Chelsea supporters check Newcastle’s live scores in the hope we’ll slip up, we Toon fans would love to know how FFP restrictions are already limiting our recruitment drive while others spend to their heart’s content.
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