Tactics and Transfers: Chelsea handling post COVID negotiations excellently

With the return of football now assured in most of the leagues around Europe, we know the transfer market will make some sort of a comeback too.

Luckily for football fans around the world—despite the economies and social structures of nearly every country on the planet—the rumor mill never grounds to the same halt. Rumors of Neymar’s return to Barcelona, Mbappe’s move to Madrid and everyone’s move to PSG have been rampant.

Chelsea has had a few rumors regarding its outgoing players, but not much more than that. Though there have been a few murmurings around Jorginho, Emerson and Marcos Alonso, by and large most of the conversation surrounding the Blues has been rather quiet.

That’s a very good thing and it shows that Chelsea is working diligently behind the scenes. Marina Granovskaia and her team have shown countless times in recent years that they are one of the best groups of negotiating sides in Europe. With only a few exceptions, they usually get the right player for the right amount and save Chelsea the superfluous money that other sides throw around without an extra thought. It is that very mentality that has Chelsea in such a good position during this crisis in the first place. It is that mentality that is going to allow Chelsea to be well-served when this ends.

The Blues have managed to maintain privacy in terms of their targets and that will make it harder for their suitors and their agents to exploit the club’s financial situation. As I mentioned last week, very few teams will have the finances to move diligently in the post-Coronavirus market. This may very well be the year teams who have been responsible in their thinking for the past several years are able to make the biggest impact and feel the residual effects of that effort.

That will, of course, be harder if the agents, opposing negotiators and chairmen are able to exploit the rumor mill to their advantage. Chelsea has managed to stay away from that and keep things under control around Stamford Bridge with admirable professionalism. In the same way Roman Abramovich should be awarded an OBE for his admirable efforts in England during the Coronavirus, the rest of the club has acted with equal poise in their professionalism during this time. Chelsea should be respected and revered for the support.

With the financial and footballing institutions of the world in complete chaos and no idea when or what state football will return in, to have everything under such tight control at this point is a wonderful thing for Chelsea.