Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says a Premier League rule change is needed in order to protect academy players.
The Italian was speaking in the wake of club captain Connor Gallagher’s impending transfer to Atletico Madrid.
By now, the trend of Premier League clubs selling their home-grown players is established and well understood. As a transfer fee was not paid for academy players, they represent pure profit in a bookkeeping sense.
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In the age of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), pure profit like that is incredibly valuable. For example, Emile Smith-Rowe’s £35 million transfer to Fulham is thought to enable Arsenal to spend up to £150 million in this transfer window.
“These are the rules,” said Enzo Maresca.
“All the clubs at this moment are compelled to sell players from the academy because of the rules. It’s all of the Premier League clubs’ problems.
“I also think the intention of the club is not to sell players from the academy, but it is the rules at the end that you have to do it,” Enzo Maresca added.
“It’s not only us; it’s all the Premier League clubs. It is a shame because in Italy we have Francesco Totti at Roma, 20 years with the same club.
“A one-club man — we love that in football; the fans want to see that. But with the rules now, it is different from the past.”
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To be frank, nobody is looking at Chelsea with any expectation of the club upholding the romance of football. That ship has sailed. As with Smith-Rowe and Arsenal, the pressure of modern football is simply too intense to give a young home-grown player the time to establish themselves.
For the players, it could well be a positive thing. Connor Gallagher’s career will be miles better off for joining Atletico than remaining at the basket case that is Chelsea. Likewise, Smith-Rowe will actually play at Fulham compared to being on the bench at Arsenal.
Expect the final few weeks of the transfer window to be filled with academy players being moved on.
