Former Everton CEO Keith Wyness believes Chelsea won't spend big this summer due to Financial Fair Play (FFP).
The Premier League have handed out points deductions to relegation candidates Everton and Nottingham Forest this season for breaching their FFP and profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Wyness thinks Chelsea could be "spooked" by the league's punishments.
Everton were deducted six points, reduced from 10 on appeal, while Forest had four points taken off them earlier this month. The latter club will fight the verdict, which has put Nuno Espirito Santo's team in the relegation zone with nine games left.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Chelsea will be "very close" to the PSR limit after co-owner Todd Boehly and his colleagues allowed over £1billion to be spent on transfers since buying the club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
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Despite the massive investment, Chelsea have struggled on the pitch. They are currently 11th in the Premier League table after finishing 12th last year, although they did reach last month's Carabao Cup final - losing 1-0 to Liverpool at Wembley.
Improvements to Mauricio Pochettino's squad this summer are needed, with the Blues linked with deals for PSV Eindhoven's Johan Bakayoko and Lille prospect Leny Yoro. Yet the Blues will be concerned about breaking PSR rules.
"The one thing the points deductions for Everton and Forest have done is spook the other clubs. They’ve seen the Premier League take action," Wyness told Football Insider's podcast.
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Mauricio Pochettino's transfer budget could be squeezed this summer (Getty Images)"Clubs like Chelsea are now worried about the lunatic loose with a gun, if you like. That’s the Premier League. Chelsea will be worried."
Much of Chelsea's transfer business has been funded by the sale of homegrown players such as Mason Mount, Lewis Hall and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ethan Ampadu. Transfer fees accrued from academy-developed player count as pure profit under PSR rules.
But Chelsea have sold much of their family silver to fund their spending in recent transfer windows, meaning there are few viable homegrown assets left to cash in on this summer. Wyness says the club is in a difficult position.
"If they’re going to avoid a breach, they’ll have to sell the younger talent," he continued. "We’ve spoken about Saudi, but I think it’ll be hard to convince the younger talent to go there. It’ll be the likes of [Romelu] Lukaku going out there. That won’t necessarily give Chelsea the value they need out of the home-grown talent, such as [Conor] Gallagher."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
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