Chelsea sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have hit back against criticism of the club's decison making in the transfer market, suggesting it's with a clear goal in mind.
Winstanley arrived at Stamford Bridge in November 2022 from Brighton, while Stewart moved to the club from Monaco in January 2023. The pair have since been responsible for Chelsea's recruitment, helping bring in the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto.
Their role also involves selling players, and keeping Chelsea on the right side of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSRs). So far, the Blues are yet to fall foul of overspending, though the stpes they have taken to get to that position has drawn sharp criticism from a number of fans and pundits.
Chelsea targeting long-term success
Chelsea drew a lot of criticism in the summer when academy graduate Conor Gallagher was sold to Atletico Madrid for £38m, while Trevoh Chalobah and Raheem Sterling were frozen out of Enzo Maresca's first team squad before eventually departing on loan deals.
The sales of Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ian Maatsen in recent years have all helped the Blues stay on the right side of PSRs, too - though sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart suggests that 'pure profit' isn't the overriding objective for their transfer strategy.
"We had a significant offer for one of our academy products this summer that we absolutely chose not to take," Winstanley told The Telegraph. "There's a lot of misconception out there."
For the Chelsea sporting directors, success is the clear motivation. They have defended player sales and the awarding of especially lengthy contracts, highlighting how every decision has been made with a clear goal in mind: to win.
"One of the messages the owners gave us from the beginning is that this is not about a short-term win or a short-term project, it's about long-term success and that's been one of the driving things on all of the decisions that we've made," Stewart said.
VIDEO: Why Enzo Maresca's Chelsea Are The Real Deal
"That, absolutely, is the idea, to try to make the club long-term successful.
"And then the plan has been how do we go on a path to make that possible. And that's been around investing in talent, committing to develop talent and developing a way of playing, the way we want our teams to play."
