By Dr Dan Plumley

10th Feb, 2023 | 12:13pm

Finance expert: Graham Potter could 'unhinge' Chelsea plan by not reaching £13m goal - 'huge'

Failing to qualify for the Champions League on a regular basis could “unhinge” the amortisation strategy being used at Chelsea.

That is the opinion of finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the long-term risks attached to Chelsea’s transfer strategy.

Chelsea spent £323million on new signings over the month of January, but avoided breaking financial regulations by spreading the cost over long-term contracts.

Star signings Mykhaylo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez were signed to eight-and-a-half-year contracts at Stamford Bridge, allowing Chelsea to pay their huge fees incrementally.

But the Blues currently sit ninth in the Premier League table and are at risk of not qualifying for the Champions League – a competition that saw them earn £95million in prize money when they won the tournament in 2021.

Qualification alone rewards teams £13.4million before a ball is even kicked in the group stage.

Plumley believes Todd Boehly’s approach to the January transfer window has put “huge pressure” on Chelsea’s sporting performance over the next few years.

“That was always the risk with this type of strategy,” Plumley told Football Insider.

“It lowers the cost per year by amortising costs but it puts huge pressure on sporting performance over the next few years.

“For Chelsea in particular, that amount of outlay is very dependent on Champions League qualification.

“Failure to qualify year-on-year threatens to unhinge the strategy as they will still have these extremely long contracts to pay off.

“It’s a long-term risk taken by Chelsea and only time will tell whether it pays off for them.”

In other news, Lewis Hall and Thiago Silva close to agreeing new Chelsea deals