RIVAL STRATEGY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF WHY MAN CITY’S INTEREST SECURED MARC CUCURELLA’S MOVE
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly reveals that rival interest from Man City was the main reason he signed defender Marc Cucurella.
Todd Boehly became the main face of the Clearlake Capital group that bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in 2022. He’s now the club’s chairman.
After Clearlake took over, a wave of executives left Stamford Bridge. Suddenly, Boehly stepped in as interim sporting director, even though he’d never worked in football before.
His first summer in charge? He went big, spending more than £200 million on players like Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Wesley Fofana from Leicester, and Marc Cucurella from Brighton.
This week, at an IConnections event, Boehly admitted his lack of football know-how shaped his approach to transfers. He basically just followed what rival clubs were doing.
He put it bluntly: “When we took over, the whole management team left. I got stuck being interim sporting director for a summer, and honestly, I had no idea what made a good football player.
“But if Man City wanted Marc Cucurella, then I wanted him too. It really was that simple.”
Out of the 12 players Chelsea signed permanently that summer, only three are still at the club: Cucurella, Fofana, and third-choice goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.
Most of the rest were disappointed. Koulibaly left for Saudi Arabia after one mistake-filled year. Sterling was released in January after falling out of favour and then joined PSV Eindhoven as a free agent.
Boehly went on to say he’s still confident about Chelsea’s future under co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, even if fans aren’t sold on their transfer strategy.
“The truth is, you make a plan, and you stick with it. If new information comes up, you adjust. There’s no shame in changing things when you learn something new, but you can’t just flip-flop all the time.
“You can’t try to build something long-term and put down real foundations if you’re constantly changing direction.
“Honestly, getting it right the first time is tough. You’re going to make mistakes.”
CHELSEA OPEN TALKS WITH JORGE MENDES FOR DORTMUND’S VERSATILE FORWARD KARIM ADEYEMI
Chelsea contact Jorge Mendes for Karim Adeyemi. See why Man United and Newcastle could hijack the €70m deal.
Chelsea reached out to Jorge Mendes, the well-known agent, hoping to land Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund. But things aren’t simple. Manchester United and Newcastle United are also circling, and Chelsea might just miss out.
Adeyemi joined Dortmund in 2022, and he’s locked in there until 2027. Since then, he’s really made a name for himself in the Bundesliga, showing off his versatility as both a winger and a forward. This season, he’s mostly played as a second striker, netting 10 goals and providing five assists over 37 matches across all competitions.
Chelsea seems pretty impressed. They’ve already connected with Mendes to talk about a deal for the 24-year-old, and reports say they’re keeping talks pretty active. But it’s not just them; Man United have apparently made Adeyemi their top transfer target, and Newcastle are interested too.
Dortmund actually want to keep Adeyemi and has put a new contract on the table, but there’s a snag: his agents want a release clause worth €80 million (£69.7m). Dortmund aren’t willing to go that high. Instead, they’re open to selling for a bit less, around €65-70 million, or up to £61 million, in the summer.
That’s a price Chelsea can handle, but the German reports think it’s more likely Adeyemi ends up with Manchester United or Newcastle for a slightly lower fee, maybe €60-65 million (up to £56.6m). Mendes is also exploring backup options and could float Adeyemi’s name to Bayern or PSG.
Then there’s the whole Champions League angle. Chelsea’s status is in doubt for next season, and questions are swirling around manager Liam Rosenior’s future. That uncertainty doesn’t help their pitch. Meanwhile, United look set to finish high in the Premier League and secure Champions League football, which probably makes them a more appealing landing spot for Adeyemi right now.
CHELSEA TEENAGER ESTEVAO "DEVASTATED" AND IN TEARS FOLLOWING EARLY HAMSTRING WITHDRAWAL
Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester United. Estevao is injured, and the Blues are now scoreless in four straight games.
Liam Rosenior said Chelsea’s Estevao was “devastated” and in tears after getting injured during Saturday’s 1-0 home loss to Manchester United. Estevao, just 18, started well but had to come off after only 16 minutes.
It looked like he hurt his hamstring while pushing forward against United. Rosenior put on Alejandro Garnacho to replace him, but Garnacho struggled too, going up against his old team.
After the match, Rosenior talked about Estevao, who’s desperate to make the World Cup squad this summer. “He was devastated; he was crying at half-time,” Rosenior explained.
“It looks like his hamstring. He was running through on goal and pulled it right then.”
Now Estevao’s future, even for Tuesday’s match at Brighton, looks uncertain. Enzo Fernandez, who left late in the game, is also in doubt, but Rosenior sounded more hopeful about him. “I think it was his calf,” he said. “I’m hoping it was just a cramp. We need him for Tuesday.”
Chelsea’s defeat is their fourth straight Premier League loss without finding the net. By the end of the weekend, they could be seven points away from the Champions League spots. United only needed one shot on target; Matheus Cunha scored in the first half, and that was enough.
“It’s so tough,” Rosenior said afterwards. “They had one shot on target when we were down to ten men.
“We just kept coming at them and hit the woodwork four times. I don’t want the players to get stuck thinking the world’s against us. We have to keep fighting.”
He went on: “We need to defend those moments better. We’re making small errors, and every time, the ball ends up in our net. That has to stop.
“It all comes down to results, and we should’ve won today. Every little thing adds up, but we’ll keep working hard.”
After Brighton, Chelsea go up against Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final next Sunday.
