Ivan Toney: UEFA Rule to Affect Chelsea’s Transfer Dealings After Mudryk, Fernandez Signings

• Ivan Toney has emerged as one of Chelsea's main targets to address their striking needs
• Nicolas Jackson remains valued, but his misses have done him more harm than good
• However, Chelsea might encounter a few snags in pursuit of the 27-year-old

Chelsea are believed to be among the front runners to sign Ivan Toney in January to shore up their numbers in attack.

The Brentford striker is set to be a hot commodity amongst top Premier League clubs despite being sidelined for eight months after being found guilty of gambling offences.

Brentford are resigned to the fate of losing their lead striker, with Football London reporting that Chelsea might move in for him either in January or summer of next year.

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Mauricio Pochettino has managed to coach a side that creates more chances, though questions remain on their underperforming expected goals. Nicolas Jackson has particularly been guilty of missing high-profile chances.

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The striker is set to depart in January to play for Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations, leaving the Blues short of options. Armando Broja is being eased back to competitive action after a lengthy lay-off, while Christopher Nkunku is yet to kick a ball in England due to an injury sustained in preseason.

This makes Toney's move more demanding as soon as possible. The Telegraph reports that Thomas Frank's side has slapped an excess of 100 million euros as transfer fees.

In essence, that fee shouldn't be a problem for Chelsea, whose willingness to splash the top-dollar on their transfer targets has well continued under the Todd Boehly-led reign. The club has already used over a billion euros on new players since the American's arrival.

One way they have bent their way around the rules is the use of the amortisation rule. For instance, Mudryk's deal is believed to have been spread across eight years, with Chelsea paying instalments of slightly over 10 million euros each year until the 88 million euro fee paid for him is completed.

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Changes in UEFA rules

As Sports Brief reported, this helps the club record only an outward investment of 10 million every year rather than trying to balance the whole amount at once, which would be difficult. This also explains the bizarre length of the contract given to Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and most of the new players under Boehly's ownership.

However, UEFA made an amendment to this rule, passing a law that will see clubs being only able to spread their transfer fees over five years.

The club will, therefore, have to pay much of Toney's fees upfront and remain in good standing with Fair Play Rules even as they continue to face scrutiny over the past dealings under Abramovich.

Everton and relegation threat

Under the Russian oligarch, the two-time Champions League winners are said to have made payments to members directly related to the club through offshore accounts to cheat FFP rules. For example, it is alleged that a company associated with Suleiman Kerimov, the owner of Anzhi Makhachkala, received payment from Abramovich two months before deals for Willian and Samuel Eto'o were agreed on.

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Following Everton's recent deduction of points for breaching profit and sustainability rules, attention shifted to how the Premier League would deal with Chelsea's and Manchester City's cases.

Earlier this summer, signing Toney would have been a walk in the park for Chelsea, but going forward with the UEFA rules and the Premier League watching, signing the England international, or any other player for that matter, for high fees might be a tall order.