Why Chelsea Are Signing So Many Young Players Despite Major Issues in First Team

• Todd Boehly and his fellow Chelsea co-owners will have a chance to rectify last season's very costly mistakes
• There has been a major overhaul of how the club does business as Mauricio Pochettino continues to settle in
• The club has bought a number of young players who will not be considered for first-team opportunities immediately

Roman Abramovich's tenure at Chelsea was marked by robust achievements. The Russian oligarch sold the club, having won all the available trophies to him.

Abramovich's preferred method, though divisive, was 'fire and hire' on the spot - as soon as a manager showed a slight dip in form, he was gone, and it didn't matter if they were as celebrated as Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti.

But with Todd Boehly, one of the current co-controlling owners, came the term, which is often referred to as 'trusting the process.' The American vouched for the embattled Graham Potter before push came to shove and the former Brighton boss had to go.

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Mauricio Pochettino has since been brought in and if the preseason results are anything to go by, Chelsea fans can look forward to the new season with renewed hope.

However, there has been a mass exodus of players from Stamford Bridge. The club still lacks proper options in some key areas, like in defensive midfield, with Moises Caicedo's deal stalling.

Chelsea's new arrivals

As soon as the takeover was complete last summer, Boehly completed moves for Carney Chukwuemeka (Aston Villa), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire), Cesare Casadei (Inter Milan) and Omari-Giraud Hutchinson (Arsenal).

They have since added David Datro Fofana (Molde), Benoit Badiashile (Monaco) and Andrey Santos from Brazil club Vasco da Gama. This transfer window has seen the arrival of more players, Lesley Ugochukwu(Rennes), Diego Moreira(Benfica), and Angelo Gabriel(Santos), with a deal for David Washington also understandably close.

So, what's Boehly's plan? Why spend a lot of money on getting stars for the future when the main team has some urgent problems that need to be addressed?

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To Boehly's credit, he splashed huge sums of cash to land Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kalidou Koulibaly in his first major transfer window. Nicholas Jackson, Alex Disasi, Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku have since been added.

Save for Koulibaly, Chelsea didn't need the profiles of the other players signed, but that is a discussion for another day. That explains why a couple have already left. And Cucurella for 62 million euros? Come on - Christmas came early for Brighton.

Boehly trusts the multi-club system

Going back to the young players, Boehly has plans to stop the massive loan system that Chelsea has used over the years.

As the Athletic reports, the new owner is of the idea that it does not make sense for a club to invest a lot in young players and then send them out on loan to be developed elsewhere by a different club with different agendas and objectives.

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The remedy, according to Boehly's business book, is to invest in another club, in preferably a different country, using the multi-club approach like Red Bull's success with RB Leipzig and Salzburg or the Manchester City group.

The billionaire has since found the French club Strasbourg. As the Guardian reports, he led the Clearlake consortium to purchase a majority stake in the club.

Abramovich had a similar unwritten understanding with the Dutch club Vitesse, where the likes of Mason Mount honed himself.

Easy transitions for Chelsea

The new proposed model at Chelsea will see Boehly invest full-time in the new club, where young players will get regular game time under the watchful eye of club staff before being eased into the main team. Angelo Gabriel has since joined the club on loan, with more of the young players expected to follow suit.

Of all the players signed so far, Chukwuemeka has taken full advantage of the injuries in the first-team squad and won the hearts of Chelsea fans. Santos followed suit in the preseason and should Chelsea fail to sign Caicedo, he will be Pochettino's go-to defensive option.

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Boehly is intent on building a new-look Chelsea side and gave out statement contract extensions to young players like Armando Broja.

On paper, it looks like a good and feasible idea, but the culture at Chelsea is one of instant gratification. Trusting the process is for Arsenal and Spurs.

Will Boehly be successful in the long run? And will Pochettino survive the current onslaught to oversee the ambitious transition? Time will tell.

Nkunku's injury changes Chelsea's plans

Sports Brief reported that Chelsea could be forced into signing a new attacker after winger Christopher Nkunku was ruled out for almost four months after surgery for a knee injury.

Nkunku suffered the injury in the first 20 minutes of their final pre-season game in the United States against Borussia Dortmund and required an operation.

The club has five potential replacements, including former academy star Michael Olise, whom they have submitted an offer to Crystal Palace for.