Todd Boehly mistakenly claims that Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah came through the Chelsea academy
Chelsea have one of the best academies in the Premier League, courtesy of huge investments by former owner Roman Abramovich. Now, new co-owner Todd Boehly is keen to develop that academy into a better one.
However, the American came under the fire when he mistakenly claimed that Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah came through Cobham. Speaking at the SALT forum (h/t Metro) on Tuesday, the American co-owner said the following.
Because we have one of the best academies in the world. So if you look at what our academy has developed, our academy has developed Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, more recently Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Mason Mount, Trevoh Chalobah.
De Bruyne joined the west London club in the summer of 2012 for £6.7 million from Genk, while Salah joined the club in the January of 2014 for £12 million with another £4 million payable as add-ons. These two were the only names that he said incorrectly, while all the others are Cobham graduates.
This is not the first time that the Blues co-owner has become subject to criticism. The Athletic (subscription required), had earlier reported that Boehly and Behdad Eghbali had drawn up a ‘4-4-3’ formation, using eleven outfield players for former manager Thomas Tuchel to use.
Such a claim brought the American under more criticism, while also being criticised for letting go of Tuchel after spending so much in the summer. Former Brighton & Hove Albion manager, Graham Potter was appointed as head coach to replace the outgoing German.
Reputed journalist Matt Law had earlier reported that Boehly plans to buy a club in Portugal. He intends to do that to allow Chelsea youngsters to develop and get more playing time before they are deemed ready to play for the west London club.
It is a model similar to that of the Red Bull group and has a huge chance of being a success if implemented correctly. It remains to be seen if the American owner decides to go ahead with such an ambitious plan.
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- Steve Clarke gives his verdict on Billy Gilmour leaving Chelsea for Brighton & Hove Albion
- Chelsea were interested in Antony long before Manchester United
Boehly is still new to this and it could take some time for him to adjust to the life of being an English football club owner. The best reply to give would be to produce better talents at Cobham than De Bruyne and Salah.