Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said the club are ‘compelled’ to sell academy players due to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations.
Chelsea have agreed to sell Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid for a fee of £33.7m with the England midfielder set to become the latest Cobham-produced talent to leave Stamford Bridge.
Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham are among the other notable academy players sold on for significant fees of late, with an increasing trend in Premier League clubs sanctioning the sales of homegrown talent.
Academy players are counted as complete profit on the balance sheet for Premier League clubs, incentivising their sale as clubs look to navigate financial rules and remain compliant with PSR.
Maresca defended Chelsea’s position in selling academy players and said it is the Premier League rules – and not the Blues’ own philosophy – that is the problem.
“It’s not Chelsea problem, it’s the rules problem,” Maresca said this week.
“The clubs are compelled to sell players because of the rules. It’s not a Chelsea problem, it’s Premier League problem.”
Chelsea have been one of the more active Premier League clubs in the transfer window as the West London side have continued their scattergun recruitment. Maresca hinted there could be more arrivals before the deadline and said he is fully involved in the recruitment process.
“How can I accept a player that doesn’t fit into the idea I want to play? I don’t think there is any manager in the world not involved in decisions.
“The squad is very good but if there is a chance to do more, we will do.”
