Is Chelsea abandoning its tried and tested strategy?

It was true for Fabregas, it was true for Pedro, it was true for Thiago Silva. But now it looks like Chelsea are abandoning their strategy. Has there been a fundamental change with the new management?

The Blues have been a club known for their uncompromising approach to contract extensions with players over 30. Their strategy did not allow them to sign players at such an advanced football age for more than one season.

There were exceptions, of course, but the rule also applied to names like Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, and most recently Thiago Silva. All of them have always signed contract extensions nicely every year.

Even with players before 30 who were due to cross that milestone during their contract, Chelsea were careful. César Azpilicueta, for example, was under contract until he was 32 with an option to extend for a year. Kanté, by the same token, until he was 32.

But the new owners may well be changing the rules. After a long, lucrative contract for Raheem Sterling, the arrival of Kalidou Koulibaly is imminent. The now 31-year-old stopper has signed a four-season deal with Chelsea.

This doesn’t just break Chelsea’s now former strategy regarding players in their 30s, it collapses like a house of cards. The signing of Koulibaly makes sense for Chelsea when viewed from perhaps every angle. A four year deal for a player over thirty, however, less so.

We’ll see if this is an exceptional case or if the new management is changing the established order.

Source: Premier League