There have been some significant transfer deals that have gone through during the current window and the odd strange one, perhaps none more so than Lewis Hall’s switch from Chelsea to Newcastle.
The highly-rated 18-year-old had recently agreed a six-year deal with the Blues with the option of another year, per The Telegraph (subscription required).
However, no sooner had he done so than the club were happy to accept a loan deal with a mandatory buy option from Newcastle.
That decision, not unexpectedly, has drawn widespread criticism from Chelsea fans.
Our transfer window went from a 10 to 7 with this one
— P (@ForeverBlue_07) August 18, 2023
Silly move, hope there’s a buyback. Unreal signing from Newcastle, and good for Hall.
— Lloyd Canfield (@LloydCanfield) August 18, 2023
Chelsea will definitely regret this move
— Jae (@Real_jaeflex) August 18, 2023
For the last three windows there has been nothing but drama coming from Stamford Bridge, and it can’t be a coincidence that the upheaval has coincided with Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club.
The first two windows of the American’s tenure saw him buying up as much talent as possible, including making a then British record purchase of Enzo Fernandez.
Perhaps realising that he’d need to offload players in order to sit the right side of Financial Fair Play rules, the current window has mainly seen the club sell as many first-team staff as possible.
At the time of writing, that number is up to 13, but there could still be moves afoot for Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech.
Not forgetting that the club have again broken the British transfer record with the signing of Moises Caicedo, have also secured Romeo Lavia and managed to bring in Robert Sanchez, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Axel Disasi and Christopher Nkunku.
No wonder the supporters have been left scratching their heads.
Maadsen way better. Good business
You don’t even know his name. Ian Maatsen Is a good player but so is Lewis hall. I would have rather got rid of Marc Cucurella instead..