Why are Chelsea stockpiling so many young players – and can they afford it?

The accounting model makes some sense as the long contracts and amortisation – spreading the cost of a transfer over an extended period – have enabled Chelsea to get players like Caicedo on comparatively ‘lower’ £180,000-a-week wages, despite him costing a British transfer record £115m when joining in 2023 from Brighton.

Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk – who joined Chelsea for up to £89m, inclusive of add-ons, from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 – is on ‘just’ £97,000 a week on a contract running to 2031. He is one example of how players can spread lower baseline earnings across a longer deal.

But there can be issues with those lengthier contracts.

Mudryk is currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. If found guilty, he could face up to a four-year ban, while still having years on his Chelsea deal.

And then what if a player wants out? On the Overlap podcast, Jamie Carragher asked whether any club could afford to buy Chelsea’s star man Cole Palmer.

Last year, the playmaker renewed his contract until 2033, but Carragher said he can see the 22-year-old’s “frustration” with some underperforming team-mates.

“It reminded me of Stevie [Gerrard] at Liverpool at times, because he was so much better than everyone else and he got frustrated. Stevie was a local player, but he was never going to leave, whereas Cole Palmer isn’t.

“This is when I go back to those eight-year contracts, and whether they are good for the club and players.

“If you’re Palmer, who’s got six or seven years left on his deal, and he should be playing for a team looking to win the Champions League, how does he get out?”

This is uncharted territory and, although it makes sense on a balance sheet, is the human aspect being overlooked?

There are also young players like Cesare Casadei, Renato Veiga and Carney Chukwuemeka who all left Chelsea in January amid various frustrations about a lack of minutes available, with multiple young stars all vying for the same roles.

Forward Christopher Nkunku, who was made available to other clubs in January – and other players such as midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who only joined last summer – face uncertainty before the next transfer window.