Chelsea bizarrely extend already absurdly lengthy contracts to see £167m flops commit until 30s
Chelsea have decided to trigger one-year extensions in the contracts of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhaylo Mudryk and we are not sure why.
Last January, the Blues signed Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial £60million before landing Fernandez from Benfica on deadline day for a British-record £107m fee.
Chelsea bizarrely extend Fernandez, Mudryk contracts
Fernandez has performed pretty well in the Premier League but hardly looks like a £100m-plus midfielder, while Mudryk has massively struggled to live up to his price tag.
As Todd Boehly looked to avoid financial implications for his huge spending spree as Chelsea co-owner, he signed these players on long-term contracts and when we say long-term, we mean long-term.
This makes news of a one-year extension for both players feel very bizarre, although there must be method to the madness.
READ MORE: Raheem Sterling plummets in ranking of Chelsea signings under Todd Boehly
As per a report from Standard Sport, Mudryk’s £97,000-a-week contract has been extended from 2030 to 2031, while Fernandez’s £180,000-a-week deal has been extended from 2031 to 2032.
This means both players are contracted to the Stamford Bridge club until their 30s, with Mudryk’s new deal expiring when he is 30 years old and Fernandez 31.
Related video: Pochettino urges Chelsea to be positive in final month of Premier League season (Daily Mail)
The report says the thought process behind the decision to extend said contracts is ‘unclear’, with the news coming to light courtesy of data released from the Football Association last week, as part of their annual agent payments report.
Chelsea wage bill second-highest in Premier League
Accounts published by Companies House confirmed that Chelsea’s – who finished 12th last season and are currently ninth – wage bill has risen to £400m, the second largest in the Premier League.
Only Treble winners Manchester City spend more on player wages per season (£422.9m).
Chelsea announced pre-tax losses of £90.1million in March, an improvement on the previous years’ loss of £121.4m, but Premier League rules state a club can have made a loss no greater than £105m over a three-year period.
While certain costs can be deducted, it means there are likely to be further player sales required in the coming months in order to remain within regulations, particularly with qualification for Europe via their league position looking unlikely this campaign.
The sale of Mason Mount to Manchester United in July last year for £55m, with a possible £5m in add-ons, will be in the 2023/24 accounts although so too will the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a fee that could rise to up to £115m.
On Friday, it was announced Chelsea spent £75.1m on agents’ and intermediaries’ fees in the 12 months up to February 1, having brought in players like Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer over the period covered – which was almost £32m more than previously spent.
Despite the outlay Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled squad have endured an inconsistent Premier League campaign – and were branded “blue billion-pound bottle jobs” by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville late on during their 1-0 extra-time defeat against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
A £76.5m property deal with BlueCo, a subsidiary of the club’s holding company, helped to reduce Chelsea’s losses, while their turnover increased to £512m, up from £481m over the previous year.
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Arsenal declared ‘chokers’ despite never actually being favourites
Can Arsenal ‘choke’ on a Premier League title for which they were never favourites? Though Martin Samuel wants you to know that Man City sometimes lose.
Actually, Manchester City sometimes lose football matches
Think it’s all over. Well don’t be daft because Martin Samuel is here in The Times to tell you that actually, Man City DO drop points in the run-in. Phew.
In 2022, City dropped two points in the penultimate game away to West Ham United, and needed a staggering comeback on the last day against Aston Villa to again deny Liverpool.
Yes, what you have described there is Manchester City successfully claiming the four points they needed from the final two games of the season as they remained unbeaten over the last dozen matches. Comforting, right?
In 2021 City’s winning run was interrupted by defeats by Leeds United and Chelsea…
Yes, and that Leeds loss left them just 14 points ahead of Manchester United. And it was real squeaky-bum time when defeat to Chelsea left them a precarious 13 points ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s marauding Reds.
In 2018 a home defeat by Manchester United was sandwiched between two Champions League reverses to Liverpool.
A truly damaging defeat that left Jose Mourinho’s United just 13 points behind.
It’s almost like Manchester City win games in the run-in when they need to and drop occasional points when they don’t; this should give Arsenal and Liverpool a great deal of hope as City enter a final straight when it’s a repeat of the first scenario.
It’s over, two points apart and six games to go? The football I’ve watched for half a century isn’t like that. There are twists, there are turns. Liverpool get beat at home by Crystal Palace. Arsenal drop six points to the manager they sacked four years ago. That’s why we watch it; because stuff happens. And it may happen, still. The Premier League is the best and most popular in the world for precisely that reason. More than any other domestic competition in Europe, it is a tale of the unexpected.
It’s a tale of the unexpected in which City have emerged as champions in five of the last six seasons.
Are City favourites? Of course they are. Pep Guardiola was right when he said that in a race as tight as this, between three outstanding teams, whoever is top at any given moment are the favourites. So it was Arsenal last weekend, and Liverpool the weekend before. Now it’s City. And because of their experience over course and distance, it is understandable to look no further.
Except Arsenal weren’t favourites last week. But carry on…
Yet, studying the run-in, the corresponding six fixtures for City in this campaign deliver a record of P6 W4 D1 L1. Wolverhampton Wanderers have already beaten City; Tottenham Hotspur drew.
Funny how this ‘study’ of the run-in has not extended to Arsenal, whose corresponding six fixtures still would not deliver enough points as they are yet to face Manchester United and Tottenham.
Liverpool might have a chance, though that logic does rather ignore the fact that they somehow deservedly lost to Crystal Palace despite beating them earlier in the season.
Does anyone think the Championship done, with two points between Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Leeds United? Is relegation done, with two points between Everton, Nottingham Forest and Luton Town?
Nope. Because Ipswich Town have not won five or the last six Championship titles. And not just because it’s impossible.
It is possible all three title-chasers will be involved in European semi-finals, or out. City have an FA Cup semi-final to play and, if successful against Real Madrid, a fixture list that potentially reads Wednesday, Saturday, Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday/Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday/Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Sunday.
Which is wildly different to last season when they had a fixture list that read Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday, Tuesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday.
Remind us what happened last season, Martin.
He’s right that it’s not over yet; it’s just his arguments that are an absolute mess. Bring back Henry Winter; at least he had stopped trying to be interesting.
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Choke hold
Arsenal lost for the first time in the Premier League in 2024 so this headline feels a little off from the Telegraph:Arsenal show first signs of choking with worst performance of the season
But maybe that’s not reflected in Jason Burt’s match report?
Suddenly it feels like this has been the pivotal weekend in the Premier League title race. Just after Liverpool threw away their chance to resume the leadership, Arsenal choked.
It was an accusation levelled against them last season, unfairly so as they were then in a fight to be champions that no one expected, but if they fail to finish first this time round it is a charge they unfortunately cannot escape.
So it was ‘unfair’ to call it a ‘choke’ when Arsenal were at one stage 10 points clear of Manchester City, but you are declaring them guilty as charged if they blow a *checks notes* one-point lead?
The wit to woo
Talk about damning with faint praise. Here’s Ian Doyle in the Liverpool Echo:
Worryingly, the forward line looks as exhausted as the rest of the team, even if all still had good opportunities to score. Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez were both thwarted by unwittingly brilliant saves by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, while Mohamed Salah saw a late effort blocked.
‘Unwittingly’ means ‘in a way that is done without knowing or planning’ or ‘unintentionally’. Which is a hell of a way to describe some excellent goalkeeping from the former Manchester United goalkeeper.
And yet…
Alisson is the world’s finest for a reason, demonstrated by his remarkable second-half save at point-blank range from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Oddly not ‘unwitting’, that save. Presumably it was entirely planned by the world’s best.
Obviously Jurgen Klopp escapes any censure, with Doyle writing:
Recent form is evidence of the issue Klopp had previously highlighted of having to integrate players back into a team after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
For example, this was a first Premier League start for Curtis Jones in two months which ended with supporters berating two glorious chances spurned in the second half. Would a more match-sharp Jones have converted one of those opportunities? Given his form before injury, it’s a distinct possibility.
Pesky fact: Curtis Jones has come off the bench three times in the last two weeks; he has been ‘integrated’. Oh and he has literally scored one goal in the Premier League this season.
Amazing how quickly the blame can pivot from ‘too many injured players’ to ‘injured players coming back’.
This really does mean more.
Was it not the flags after all, Ian?
Quote of the day
“It might be naive. [But] I’ve got a three-year-old girl who still believes in rainbows and unicorns, maybe that’s through me” – Craig Bellamy on Burnley’s chances of survival.
Mediawatch still believes in rainbows too.
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Championship winners and losers: Faltering Leeds United, Leicester City give Southampton fresh hope
Promotion bottlers Leeds United and Leicester City are this week’s biggest losers in the Championship, while Southampton are given hope…
Championship winners
Southampton
It was a very big weekend for Russell Martin’s Southampton, who are suddenly right back in the fight for automatic promotion.A mid-season 25-game unbeaten run thrust the Saints into the promotion mix but a subsequent stretch of just three wins in eight Championship games threatened to end their top two chances.
Luckily for the Saints, their three nervy rivals for automatic promotion to the Premier League are on the ropes and at risk of fully bottling it. So the recent return to form for Martin’s side is timely and it’s breathed fresh life into their season.
Back-to-back victories – against tough opposition in Coventry City and Watford – leave Southampton just eight points behind league leaders Ipswich Town with two games in hand.
As proven by recent slip-ups, there are no easy games at this level (especially at this stage of a gruelling season) and Southampton would surely rather have points on the board instead of games in hand. But they are the one side at the top of the Championship showing any semblance of consistency and they can embrace the run-in with the freedom of being the underdogs, while the teams above them struggle in the face of mounting pressure.
Southampton’s final game of the season at Elland Road against Leeds United really could be something special…
Birmingham City
Down at the bottom, Birmingham City arguably picked up the stand-out victory of the weekend by earning a 3-0 home victory over play-off hopefuls Coventry City.Sitting 23rd in the table before the weekend, the feeling at St Andrew’s would have been becoming increasingly desperate after this season started so promisingly following the takeover of Shelby Companies Ltd.Related video: Leeds trio in Champ TOTY (Dailymotion)
Most of the issues faced by Birmingham this season have been self-inflicted by their rash American owners who have been learning on the job. The failed Wayne Rooney experiment did a lot of damage as the Manchester United legend oversaw their freefall down the table.
Birmingham’s decision-makers have since attempted to make amends, with the appointment of Tony Mowbray a more sensible call given the situation they found themselves.
An unforeseen medical procedure ensured Mowbray’s spell in the dugout was short but sweet (we wish him a speedy recovery) and after Mark Venus’ winless stint as interim boss increased Birmingham’s relegation fears, former boss Gary Rowett was drafted in on a short-term basis until the summer.
Having been unlucky to lose his job the first time around in 2016, Rowett returned with a point to prove and while Birmingham were only heading in one direction under Venus, their survival chances were boosted by having the experienced former Millwall and Derby County boss back in charge.
Rowett has swiftly made Birmingham more difficult to beat and they were clinical with their chances in the 3-0 win over Coventry.
A run of two wins in five games under the 50-year-old leaves the Blues a point and a place above the relegation places with three games to go. They are not yet out of the mire, but Birmingham’s owners could still come out of this treacherous season without a relegation on their résumé.
READ MORE: Leicester, Leeds United gatecrash promotion places… Championship teams ranked by record signing
Championship losers
Leeds United
Daniel Farke’s team were among the losers last week
and they are back in the negative column this time around.Leeds United were given a kicking in last week’s column following a disappointing but forgivable away loss to Coventry City, but matters have got worse for the promotion candidates in the past week.
Home games against Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers were expected to result in six points but Leeds United only managed to earn a solitary point and automatic promotion is now out of their hands.
Leeds are the lowest scorers of the top four sides but have Premier League-calibre attackers in Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter, Wilfried Gnonto and Joel Piroe.
All four players have shone at varying levels of consistency this season but are enduring a sticky patch at a terrible time.
Not helped by the lack of goals in midfield, Leeds are coming off 180+ minutes of frustration as they failed to break down Sunderland and Blackburn, while a classy finish from Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics saw John Eustace’s side leave Elland Road with all three points at the weekend.
It does not get any easier for Leeds with trips to Middlesbrough and QPR to come before that finale against Southampton so it is looking increasingly likely that they will have to settle for a place in the play-offs.
Leicester City
The Foxes’ situation is not quite as sticky as Leeds United, but they are making bloody hard work of getting over the line.For much of this season, Leicester were putting forward a case to be one of the greatest teams in Championship history and given the abundance of quality at the disposal of head coach Enzo Maresca, it’s easy to see why that was the case.
Channeling Manchester City, Pep Guardiola disciple Maresca was making the Championship look easy as Leicester robotically earned win after win to place them on course to finish the season with more than 100 points comfortably.
But Leicester City’s faulty parts have been exposed in recent weeks and they now must win their four remaining games to reach the 100-point mark.
Maresca’s side appeared to be over their run-in stumble by beating Norwich City and Birmingham, but they have since followed with 1-0 losses in away games against relegation-threatened Millwall and Plymouth Argyle.
Like Leeds, Leicester have been struggling in front of goal as misfiring striker Patson Daka has let his side down in vital moments.
It really is a good job Leicester were dominant for as long as they were because they just remain on track to win the league even after losing six of their past ten Championship games.
Trailing table-toppers Ipswich Town by one point with a game in hand, Leicester *should* still stumble to promotion but this season will not be looked back on as triumphant as expected ahead of an FFP-impacted summer and points deduction-affected Premier League return.
READ MORE: Leicester City stars reassigned due to FFP… Man Utd land £25m target, Newcastle solve defensive crisis
Hebdomadal losers
Rotherham United
They lost a Championship away game, again. Relegated in April and 21 points adrift of 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday. It really is a miserable time to be a Miller…
William Saliba told Arsenal exit could be ‘best career decision’ to ‘fully exploit potential’
Former France winger Ludovic Giuly has hinted that William Saliba might need to leave Arsenal if he wants to become the best centre-back in the world.
Saliba has been excellent for Arsenal since making his Premier League debut in August 2022.
Leaving Arsenal could benefit William Saliba – Giuly
He was shipped out on loan three times after costing the Londoners £27million in the summer of 2019 and made his long-awaited debut in a 2-0 win away to Crystal Palace on the first day of 2022/23.
The Frenchman was a crucial player in the Gunners’ unlikely title push but his side ultimately fell short after he suffered a season-ending injury in March.
Saliba has been fantastic again this term, helping Mikel Arteta’s side become the best defensive team in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old signed a four-year contract last July amid doubts over his long-term future at the Emirates. He is now valued at €80million by Transfermarkt.
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Arsenal will no doubt be completely against the sale of Saliba but former AS Monaco and Barcelona winger Giuly has hinted that a move elsewhere could benefit the player’s career.
Asked if Saliba can become one of the best central defenders in world football, Giuly told wettbasis.com: “William is already on a very good path. In his first year at Arsenal, he was on the substitutes’ bench on and off, but he has developed brilliantly over the past 18 months.
TO THE COMMENTS! Should William Saliba leave Arsenal to reach his potential? Join the debate here.
“He is playing brilliantly in the Premier League and is now fully exploiting his potential.
“Whether he can become the best central defender in the world is always difficult to predict. There are a lot of details that play a role, such as fitness, whether he can meet the high expectations in the long term, whether he makes the best career decisions and whether he stays at Arsenal or dares to change clubs.”
Liverpool man must overcome ‘big problem’
Discussing young French players, Giuly was also asked about Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.
The 47-year-old thinks Konate will be able to reach his potential if he overcomes his injury problems.
“The big problem with him is that he’s often injured,” Giuly said. “But he’s athletic and physically robust, I rarely see him lose a duel.
“If his body leaves him alone in the coming months, then he will go his way and certainly fulfil the great hopes that have been placed in him.”
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