Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has claimed that the Blues have been 'making investments', rather than spending money, in the transfer market.
Ever since taking over from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, co-owners Boehly and Clearlake Capital have polarised the footballing world with their unique strategy.
Across the first three transfer windows, over £1bn was spent on fresh faces, with the vast majority being players before the age of 23 whose value could increase over time.
Boehly and Clearlake Capital have also made a habit of handing out contracts in excess of seven years, with the objective being to build a young side that can dominate for years to come.
As it stands, that is yet to materialise, Chelsea currently sitting in seventh position in the Premier League standings with two matches remaining.
What has Boehly had to say?
Boehly is currently in the Middle East where he has been speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, addressing a range of issues that involve Chelsea.
Earlier on Wednesday, Boehly suggested that he and the club's board would have 'patience' with the project, an indication that Mauricio Pochettino could remain as head coach.
Following on from those comments, the subject of transfers came up, and Boehly was undeterred when it came to defending a strategy that has put Chelsea at risk of breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.
He said, as quoted by journalist Ben Jacobs on X: "When we are spending, we are investing and those players continue to hold their value.
"So what we are thinking of is what does it cost to finance that portfolio of players. Some will go up and some will go down in value, but I argue the investments made at Chelsea have held their value.
"We are not spending the money, we are investing the money. So when we buy, we are just thinking about the cost of carry."
Boehly's viewpoint makes sense to a certain degree, with Chelsea taking an aggressive approach to building a team for the future rather than the here and now.
In the eyes of the governing bodies, though, Chelsea have made in excess of £200m losses across the last two reported periods when no more than a £105m deficit can be published across three years.
UEFA's regulations are more stringent than the Premier League's, so there will be many interested observers when Chelsea attempt to meet all the necessary criteria if they finish in the top six or seven in the Premier League table, the former guaranteeing a European qualification spot.
Outsiders will argue that Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, each costing over £100m, as well as Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku currently represent examples where value for money is yet to be achieved.
Nevertheless, Caicedo has begun to flourish in recent weeks, and the target for Chelsea will be keeping the latter three fit after injury-ravaged campaigns.
