Todd Boehly makes brave move to sign Romeo Lavia to solve Chelsea problem
After an impressive summer transfer window in which the club’s new ownership broke records with a £250 million spending spree, Chelsea are expected to be active again in January.
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, and Welsey Fofana were largely responsible for the majority of Chelsea’s hefty spending during a time when massive changes occurred behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.
Todd Boehly does not appear to be resting on his laurels, despite January’s reputation as a barren wasteland for conducting profitable business.
According to agent and columnist Haydn Dodge, the Blues plan to add to their expanding recruitment team before the start of the new year.
Dodge, writing for Caught Offside, stated: “From what we‘ve been told, the three people in discussions are Stuart Webber from Norwich City, Christopher Vivell from RB Leipzig and Joe Shields from Southampton. All of them have the pedigree and know the model of bringing young players through from their time spent at Norwich, Leipzig and Southampton, respectfully.”
The club had already confirmed Shields as the new co-director of recruitment and talent a day after announcing the arrival of Laurence Stewart from Monaco as technical director. football.london has previously reported that Vivell is in talks with Chelsea to become the club’s technical director, but this has not yet been confirmed.
The Athletic reported a month ago that Webber was being considered for a position following his work at Norwich and his role as sporting director in Huddersfield’s promotion to the Premier League in 2017.
Under Boehly, acquiring young players from domestic or European rivals, such as Omari Hutchinson, Cesare Casadei, and Carney Chukwuemeka, has been a notable aspect of Chelsea’s transfer strategy.
According to rumors, Arsen Zakharyan of Zenit and Endrick of Palmeiras are next on the list for 2023.
According to Dodge, Romeo Lavia of Southampton will be one of the club’s top transfer targets in January. The Southampton midfielder scored against Chelsea in August and has been linked to the club since his summer transfer from Manchester City to the Saints.
Given N’Golo Kante’s injury history and the lack of investment in central midfield over a number of years, central midfield is arguably Graham Potter’s most pressing area of need.
The fact that Kante and Jorginho’s contracts expire at the end of this season makes the need for new players even more urgent.
Since the summer, Mateo Kovacic has been afflicted by a nagging knee injury, which has adversely impacted his form and availability for Stoke, as he did not start Sunday’s game against Arsenal after being rested the previous midweek against Dinamo Zagreb.
Edson Alvarez is another possible target Chelsea could revisit in January. In September, the Ajax midfielder was heavily linked with a deadline-day transfer that was denied by Eredivisie giants due to its lateness.
Prior to the World Cup, Chelsea and Potter are under increasing pressure, which will likely result in increased spending, but the defining question is whether this spending will be directed in the right direction.
Todd Boehly makes brave move to sign Romeo Lavia to solve Chelsea problem
