Success of Broja and Livramento means Southampton have more reason than most to monitor Chelsea’s sale
By Dan Sheldon
Every Premier League club will be paying close attention to who is announced as the preferred bidder to buy Chelsea — none more so than Southampton.
For those at the top of the table competing directly with the Champions League holders for trophies and European places, they will be hoping the days of their Roman Abramovich-level spending are a thing of the past.
Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, was sanctioned by the UK government in March after they accused him of benefiting financially from his close links to Russian president Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Raine Group, a US bank handling the sale, has shortlisted four bidders to purchase the west London club. These include the Ricketts family, who also own the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, and consortiums led by Todd Boehly, Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton.
While Southampton do not have a particular horse in this race, they are paying close attention to who cross the finish line first to replace Abramovich, and what their motives are.
Last summer, Southampton signed Tino Livramento, Dynel Simeu and Armando Broja (the first two permanently, the latter on a season-long loan) from Chelsea, deals which kick-started a potentially fruitful relationship between the two clubs.
Marina Granovskaia, the director who ran Chelsea for Abramovich on a day-to-day basis, has an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge and her expected departure could signal the end of the two sides’ willingness to trade players like that.
Southampton’s hierarchy — through Granovskaia — have laid the foundations of a relationship that benefits both parties.
In Livramento’s case, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl got a player with untold potential for only around £5 million. Chelsea ensured a clause was inserted into the deal which allows them to buy the 19-year-old back if he develops at Southampton the way many believe he will.
It works for both parties: Southampton get a brilliant youngster, and Chelsea do not have to worry about bedding him into Premier League football.
Simeu, a centre-half who turned 20 last month and is now on loan to Carlisle United in League Two, joined Hasenhuttl’s side on a three-year deal before Livramento, and striker Broja, also now 20, followed him.
So, should Granovskaia depart once Chelsea’s new owners are in place, Southampton may find themselves having to schmooze her replacement in an attempt to maintain this recently established working relationship.
But that process will become easier once the Raine Group has nominated its choice of bidder.
Industry sources suggest that if the group who buy Chelsea from Abramovich continue to invest heavily in the playing squad, it paves the way for more of their youngsters to depart.
Instead of giving Broja a chance in their first team last summer, for example, Chelsea spent close to £100 million to re-sign their former striker Romelu Lukaku from Italian champions Inter Milan. Broja has one more Premier League goal (six) than Lukaku so far this season.
Chelsea’s young players would again see their opportunities to break into the first team be limited at best if the new ownership continue to shop around Europe for proven talent. In contrast, if the preferred bidders complete the acquisition and decide they want to raise capital, that is more of a problem for clubs looking to follow Southampton’s lead.
It would most likely lead to Broja, Conor Gallagher, who is starring on loan at Crystal Palace, Billy Gilmour, farmed out to Norwich City for the season, and the rest of their loan army returning to base to fill the void vacated by the players Chelsea sell to raise funds.
While this would be great for those young players, it may not be so good for the clubs trying to take advantage of the youngsters wanting to leave Chelsea in search of game time.
Chelsea, though, are not the only club whose academy is bristling with talent — and if the pipeline from their Cobham HQ gets shut off, there will be other opportunities elsewhere to try to prise away those struggling to break into the first-team squad. Manchester City, for example.
One issue Southampton are going to encounter wherever they go is that rival clubs will have taken notice of their business last summer and may try to replicate it in future windows. There is a good chance they will be competing with Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Aston Villa, among others, for the next Livramento.
Is that a concern?
Despite other clubs perhaps following suit, Southampton will hope the fact they can point to Livramento and say, ‘Look at him. You are going to play if you join us, it is not a false promise’, sets them apart from their rivals.
“I try to tell players that are coming here the truth, because it is always helpful,” said Hasenhuttl. “You can lie to them, but football is a big family and they all talk about what goes on at their club. The words you give have to turn into actions.
“It definitely helps when players can see that, for Tino, it was a very quick start (after moving to Southampton). The good thing for the young players when you give them the chance to play is that you can push their limits massively. The quicker they learn, the quicker they work on this level, the higher they climb and the higher they go.
“If you give them the right input, you can have a lot of fun with them in the future.”
Palace can say the same given Gallagher’s success at Selhurst Park and Ruben Loftus-Cheek making England’s 2018 World Cup squad on the basis of his play for them while also on loan from Chelsea; Brighton were the first to raid Chelsea’s academy by signing right-back Tariq Lamptey in January 2020.
The Athletic detailed how Southampton are keen to target more experienced players as well as continuing to search for the best youngsters.
In signing Thierry Small, a 17-year-old defender, from Everton last summer, they showed they are more than willing to widen their search beyond Chelsea.
But even if their relationship with Chelsea veers off course due to a new ownership and executive-level structure in west London, that will not stop them looking for a new partner.
https://theathletic.com/3236126/2022/04/07/success-of-broja-and-livramento-means-southampton-have-more-reason-than-most-to-monitor-chelseas-sale/
Success of Broja and Livramento means Southampton have more reason than most to monitor Chelsea’s sale
By Dan Sheldon
Every Premier League club will be paying close attention to who is announced as the preferred bidder to buy Chelsea — none more so than Southampton.
For those at the top of the table competing directly with the Champions League holders for trophies and European places, they will be hoping the days of their Roman Abramovich-level spending are a thing of the past.
Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, was sanctioned by the UK government in March after they accused him of benefiting financially from his close links to Russian president Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Raine Group, a US bank handling the sale, has shortlisted four bidders to purchase the west London club. These include the Ricketts family, who also own the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, and consortiums led by Todd Boehly, Stephen Pagliuca and Sir Martin Broughton.
While Southampton do not have a particular horse in this race, they are paying close attention to who cross the finish line first to replace Abramovich, and what their motives are.
Last summer, Southampton signed Tino Livramento, Dynel Simeu and Armando Broja (the first two permanently, the latter on a season-long loan) from Chelsea, deals which kick-started a potentially fruitful relationship between the two clubs.
Marina Granovskaia, the director who ran Chelsea for Abramovich on a day-to-day basis, has an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge and her expected departure could signal the end of the two sides’ willingness to trade players like that.
Southampton’s hierarchy — through Granovskaia — have laid the foundations of a relationship that benefits both parties.
In Livramento’s case, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl got a player with untold potential for only around £5 million. Chelsea ensured a clause was inserted into the deal which allows them to buy the 19-year-old back if he develops at Southampton the way many believe he will.
It works for both parties: Southampton get a brilliant youngster, and Chelsea do not have to worry about bedding him into Premier League football.
Simeu, a centre-half who turned 20 last month and is now on loan to Carlisle United in League Two, joined Hasenhuttl’s side on a three-year deal before Livramento, and striker Broja, also now 20, followed him.
So, should Granovskaia depart once Chelsea’s new owners are in place, Southampton may find themselves having to schmooze her replacement in an attempt to maintain this recently established working relationship.
But that process will become easier once the Raine Group has nominated its choice of bidder.
Industry sources suggest that if the group who buy Chelsea from Abramovich continue to invest heavily in the playing squad, it paves the way for more of their youngsters to depart.
Instead of giving Broja a chance in their first team last summer, for example, Chelsea spent close to £100 million to re-sign their former striker Romelu Lukaku from Italian champions Inter Milan. Broja has one more Premier League goal (six) than Lukaku so far this season.
Chelsea’s young players would again see their opportunities to break into the first team be limited at best if the new ownership continue to shop around Europe for proven talent. In contrast, if the preferred bidders complete the acquisition and decide they want to raise capital, that is more of a problem for clubs looking to follow Southampton’s lead.
It would most likely lead to Broja, Conor Gallagher, who is starring on loan at Crystal Palace, Billy Gilmour, farmed out to Norwich City for the season, and the rest of their loan army returning to base to fill the void vacated by the players Chelsea sell to raise funds.
While this would be great for those young players, it may not be so good for the clubs trying to take advantage of the youngsters wanting to leave Chelsea in search of game time.
Chelsea, though, are not the only club whose academy is bristling with talent — and if the pipeline from their Cobham HQ gets shut off, there will be other opportunities elsewhere to try to prise away those struggling to break into the first-team squad. Manchester City, for example.
One issue Southampton are going to encounter wherever they go is that rival clubs will have taken notice of their business last summer and may try to replicate it in future windows. There is a good chance they will be competing with Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Aston Villa, among others, for the next Livramento.
Is that a concern?
Despite other clubs perhaps following suit, Southampton will hope the fact they can point to Livramento and say, ‘Look at him. You are going to play if you join us, it is not a false promise’, sets them apart from their rivals.
“I try to tell players that are coming here the truth, because it is always helpful,” said Hasenhuttl. “You can lie to them, but football is a big family and they all talk about what goes on at their club. The words you give have to turn into actions.
“It definitely helps when players can see that, for Tino, it was a very quick start (after moving to Southampton). The good thing for the young players when you give them the chance to play is that you can push their limits massively. The quicker they learn, the quicker they work on this level, the higher they climb and the higher they go.
“If you give them the right input, you can have a lot of fun with them in the future.”
Palace can say the same given Gallagher’s success at Selhurst Park and Ruben Loftus-Cheek making England’s 2018 World Cup squad on the basis of his play for them while also on loan from Chelsea; Brighton were the first to raid Chelsea’s academy by signing right-back Tariq Lamptey in January 2020.
The Athletic detailed how Southampton are keen to target more experienced players as well as continuing to search for the best youngsters.
In signing Thierry Small, a 17-year-old defender, from Everton last summer, they showed they are more than willing to widen their search beyond Chelsea.
But even if their relationship with Chelsea veers off course due to a new ownership and executive-level structure in west London, that will not stop them looking for a new partner.
https://theathletic.com/3236126/2022/04/07/success-of-broja-and-livramento-means-southampton-have-more-reason-than-most-to-monitor-chelseas-sale/
