Todd Boehly's transfer approach has solved key issue Man Utd are struggling with

30 December 2023 , 00:00

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Todd Boehly has invested more than £1 billion on new signings since becoming owner of Chelsea (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Chelsea and Manchester United face very different summers next year when it comes to dealing with players' contracts.

Todd Boehly has been the owner of Chelsea since he completed a £4.25 billion takeover in the summer of 2022. Since then, Boehly has invested more than £1 billion in signing new players across three transfer windows.

Both Chelsea and Man United have endured difficult opening months of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Chelsea are not competing in Europe and currently sit 10th place in the league table, while Man United finished bottom of their Champions League group and are six points adrift of the top four in sixth place having played one game more than Manchester City.

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When it comes to transfers, both clubs from Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford have not been shy at splashing the cash to bring new players into their respective squads. Despite this, the two historic rivals have done things very differently in recent years.

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Since Boehly's takeover, Chelsea have signed 31 players across three transfer windows, either on loan or permanent deals. Those moves add up to a total of £1.19 billion in transfer fees, although some of that will be offset by player sales including the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, and Mateo Kovacic.

What Boehly and the club have done since their arrival is hand out long-term contracts to their new signings, beyond the typical five-year deals that are expected.

This has led to Chelsea not having to deal with many out-of-contract players in the coming months. In 2024 Thiago Silva is the only member of the first-team squad to be out of contract, and it remains to be seen if the 37-year-old will get a new deal or leave as a free agent.

Chelsea's new signings this summer included Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Nicolas Jackson, Axel Disasi, Robert Sanchez, and Christopher Nkunku. Disasi and Nkunku signed six-year deals with the London club, Lavia and Sanchez put pen to paper on seven-year deals, while Caicedo and Jackson are contracted to the club for eight years until 2031. Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk are also contracted until 2031 after signing eight-and-a-half-year deals back in January.

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In contrast, Man United currently have eight players who are contracted to leave Old Trafford in the summer. Two of those are loan deals in Serg Reguillon and Sofyan Amrabat, with Man United having the option to sign Amrabat on a permanent deal from Fiorentina at the end of the season.

The other players who are currently out of contract at Man United next summer are Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial, Hannibal Mejbri, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton. Wan-Bissaka, Martial, Mejbri, and Lindelof all have the options for a further year in their respective deal, but it remains to be seen if they will be activated by the club.

Mark Wakefield