January 14 was a crucial day for many clubs as they waited to learn if the Premier League judged them to be within Profitability and Sustainability Rules — commonly referred to as Financial Fair Play, or FFP. Liverpool, never in any danger, could sit back and relax.
It was not the same story for near-neighbor Everton, which got hit with a second charge, having already been docked 10 points this season for a breach in the previous rolling three-year period. Likewise, Nottingham Forest was informed that the Premier League does not believe its accounts are compliant with the FFP rules, and both cases will now go before a commission.
But one club conspicuous by its absence from the Premier League charges was Chelsea. There had been much speculation about whether Todd Boehly’s spending spree would be compliant with FFP — and it seems the answer is yes, at least for now.
It’s worth noting that the spending from last summer has not yet been accounted for. Chelsea and Liverpool ended up in a colossal transfer tug-of-war, one which the Blues ‘won’ — landing both Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia, albeit at a massive price. Next January will be the time of reckoning for those particular transactions.
There are already question marks about whether Chelsea might be in a little more bother that time around. The Daily Mail writes that ‘trouble looks on the horizon’, citing the absence from European football as a major hit to revenues. Those big summer transactions will also be added to the books, although they will once again be amortized over the length of contract so that only a seventh or even an eighth of the total cost will show up in some cases.
But even taking full advantage of that now-closed loophole, Chelsea is walking a tightrope. And a comparison with Liverpool shows the sad realities of this FFP brinkmanship.
It has been reported (in a different Mail article) that Chelsea could sanction the sale of Conor Gallagher in order to record more ‘pure profit’ on the books, a godsend from an FFP perspective. That would seemingly be against the wishes of both player and manager.
Speaking about Gallagher, Pochettino extolled the virtues of having academy players in the side. “He’s important because of his Chelsea values,” said the manager, via the Mirror.
“He came from the academy and knows the identity of the club and he is very committed. You can see on the pitch how he runs, plays, and fights. He gives everything and he is a really important player. All coaching staff want this type of player in their team.”
Pochettino might have said ‘Chelsea values’, but he was inadvertently talking about Liverpool. After all, nobody has given youth a better chance in the first team than Jürgen Klopp — and the Stamford Bridge outfit can hardly trumpet its own efforts while simultaneously auctioning off the best and the brightest to come out of Cobham.
His description of Gallagher could just as easily apply to Curtis Jones at Liverpool. Both have really stepped up this season to become key players, and both are typified by their fight and their workrate as well as their technique.
In fact, the two are in a very similar boat more generally. Both Gallagher and Jones have been talked about for some time at their respective clubs, but neither were able to make an instant breakthrough, instead slowly working their way first into contention and then into pivotal roles.
It’s often been complained that Liverpool does not show enough ambition in the transfer market under FSG, and perhaps that has sometimes been true. But one thing the owners have always been is responsible — and there would surely be uproar if the club had got itself into the kind of mess that meant Jones might now need to be sold.
To be fair, Pochettino has denied that Chelsea is in a position where it needs to sell to buy. But FFP is surely the only reason Gallagher would be getting linked with a transfer away, when there are no indications he wants to leave.
Likewise, Everton would presumably not have parted ways with Anthony Gordon were it not trying to salvage the FFP picture. Liverpool might not buy like some of its division rivals, but staying well within the rules has allowed academy talent like Jones (or, dare we say it, even Trent Alexander-Arnold) to flourish without the looming prospect of being flogged for ‘pure profit’.
