Chelsea continue to milk Cobham cash cow as Conor Gallagher adds to £180m worth of academy talent sold

Conor Gallagher is the latest star from the Cobham production line who is likely to be sold by Chelsea.

Since Todd Boehly and his Clearlake consortium bought the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022, their transfer strategy has been clear.

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They have spent more than a billion pounds attracting players to the club and giving them long-term contracts.

Long-term contracts are key to complying with financial fair play rules because they allow costs to be spread over several years.

Loopholes have been closed so that the balance sheet total can be a maximum of five years.

There is another loophole that Boehly used to stay within these profit and sustainability targets. [PSR] Regulate.

This means that the total transfer fees of the academy players flow into the plus column in their balance sheet.

That is why the sale of academy players is more valuable to clubs than that of others.

Gallagher is likely to be the latest victim of this development after Chelsea accepted a £33 million offer from Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher’s current contract expires in 2025 and Chelsea are not prepared to let the academy graduate enter his final year.

They had accepted a higher, club-record offer from Aston Villa earlier this summer, but Gallagher rejected the move.

The 24-year-old has been offered a two-year contract with an option for a further year, with a salary comparable to that of the top earners in Chelsea’s midfield.

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The Pitch Prospect has learned that the England midfielder felt a two-year deal would not do justice to his role in the team, particularly given the length of the contracts offered to new signings.

The fans are understandably furious because another player from the academy has been sold.

In total, Boehly earned around £180 million from various sales of players who came out of the academy.

Mason Mount was the big hit last summer and moved to Manchester United for around £55 million.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was allowed to move to AC Milan for £15 million, while Billy Gilmour was sold to Brighton for £7.5 million.

Gilmour played in Rangers’ academy but moved to Cobham at the age of 16.

Lewis Hall moved to Newcastle permanently for £28 million and there have been other departures this summer.

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Ian Maatsen moved to Aston Villa for £37.5 million, while Omari Hutchinson was loaned permanently to Ipswich for £20 million.

And then there’s Tino Livramento, who was sold to Southampton in 2021. Chelsea earned an extra £17.5m last season when he joined Newcastle – more money from an academy graduate that goes into the club’s balance sheet.

TalkSPORT presenter and Chelsea fan Rory Jennings was furious with Boehly’s decisions and would not be surprised by protests.

He said: “This is a disgrace and a scandal. If this doesn’t get Chelsea fans to take to the streets of Fulham Road and say enough is enough, Clearlake must take responsibility.”

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“They are dissolving the club. The club is now just a shadow of the club they took over. If that isn’t the trigger for serious protests, I don’t know what will be.”

“This is another academy product who already has a good relationship with the fans being sacrificed so our faceless sporting directors can play this ridiculous game of Championship Manager.

“Yes, he divides the fan base to some extent, but the fans who go to the games must have felt nothing but affection for Conor Gallagher at Stamford Bridge.

“His banner is constantly flying out, he was captain of the club, there is only love for him there.

“There is a debate about how good he is as a footballer. I think he is a very good player. I think there is always room for a Conor Gallagher in our team.”

“We should also remember, and I don’t want this to sound disrespectful to Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, but Conor Gallagher played for England, he was a European Championship finalist with England. We are replacing him with Kieran Dewsbury Hall, he is a Championship player. So Chelsea have gotten worse.”