Chelsea transfer plans boosted by Champions League qualification as club aims for top again – Reporter Notebook | Football News

Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol analyses how Chelsea’s Champions League qualification impacts their transfer strategy and what the future may hold for Jadon Sancho…

Nobody at Chelsea is getting carried away after they qualified for the Champions League by winning away at Nottingham Forest.

Enzo Maresca’s main target this season was to get Chelsea back where they feel they belong and he has delivered what was expected in his first season as head coach.

There is still the Conference League to play for on Wednesday night, but even if Real Betis get their hands on the least coveted of UEFA’s three major club competition trophies, this season will be viewed as a qualified success at Stamford Bridge and an important milestone on the long road to making Chelsea great again.

Last summer, Chelsea’s owners and senior executives were under siege from a barrage of criticism about their transfer strategy and the size of their squad.

Much was made of the fact they had 42 first-team players, but what Maresca said at the time has turned out to be true. Chelsea finished fourth in the Premier League using 26 players and a core of nine players made more than 30 appearances across the league season.

This Chelsea side was also the youngest in Premier League history, with an average starting age of 24 years and 36 days, which means they can grow and develop with the added experience of Champions League football next season.

Much was also made last summer of the fact that Chelsea players had a combined 191 years left on their contracts. Signing the best young players in the world, though, on long, incentivised contracts would appear to make sense when Real Madrid are trying to sign Enzo Fernandez and the club has him tied down to a contract for another seven years.

Qualifying for the Champions League will make it easier for Chelsea to sign the best players available this summer, but no overhaul of the squad is planned. Major surgery was carried out last summer, with 11 players arriving, so this time around, business is likely to be more focused and targeted.

It has been well documented that Chelsea will sign another forward this summer as well as a winger, and a new centre-back signing is also a strong possibility.

Forwards such as Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitike and Jonathan David all remain targets and the transfer strategy will be discussed internally in more detail after the Conference League final.

Along with Manchester City, Chelsea are one of two English teams representing the Premier League in the expanded Club World Cup in the United States next month and they are expected to use the special early transfer window from June 1 to June 10.

Winning the new FIFA tournament, a competition Chelsea are taking seriously, could be worth up to £100m.

Chelsea following PSG model | No plans to sign Rodrygo

The club’s hierarchy had believed Maresca was on track with his project even before they won at Forest to secure fourth place and were prepared to back him.

Sky Sports News reported last week that Chelsea have no plans to sign superstar players such as Real Madrid winger Rodrygo.

Chelsea have made at least £100m by qualifying for the Champions League and they will bank about £100m if they reach the final stages of the Club World Cup.

Rodrygo is viewed as an exceptional player but the total cost of any potential deal, including wages, is prohibitive and a move would not fit in with Chelsea’s strategy in recent transfer windows.

Chelsea’s model, which is very similar to Paris Saint-Germain’s, is to build a squad of young world-class players who will develop together and challenge for major trophies next season.

PSG have reached the Champions League final with a young, exciting team after changing strategy and ditching their model of signing superstar players such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Many elite players who will move this summer have been waiting to see who will be playing in European football’s elite competition next season before finalising any transfers.

‘Sancho wants to stay’

Decisions will also have to be made about the future of players such as Jadon Sancho and Trevoh Chalobah.

Sancho has enjoyed his time at Chelsea and is believed to be keen to stay after joining on loan from Manchester United last summer.

The fact that he started the crucial game against Forest is being seen by some insiders as an indication that Chelsea are leaning towards taking up their option to sign him permanently.

Meanwhile, Chalobah has impressed the club with his performances and his conduct during a difficult season, which started with a loan spell at Crystal Palace.

Qualifying for the Champions League is more important than ever in the era of financial fair play and profitability and sustainability rules.

Maximising revenues ensures clubs can spend more on transfers and wages, and the competition’s new format – with more matches and more high-quality opposition – brings in extra matchday and commercial income.

Chelsea remain in negotiations with multiple parties about a new long-term front-of-shirt sponsor, and the prospect of Champions League football will push up the price of any potential partnership agreement.

No wonder Chelsea’s owners and senior executives were congratulating the players and staff on the pitch at the City Ground. Chelsea are back at European football’s top table, but the champagne will remain on ice until there is a major trophy to parade down the Fulham Road again.

Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season

From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.