Since Todd Boehly and the Clearlake consortium took over at Chelsea, 10 members of staff have moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton
When it comes to favourite contacts, Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly must have Brighton counterpart Tony Bloom at the top of his list.
And given how the past 12 months has unfolded, perhaps Bloom feels the same way.
It is just over a year since Boehly went to Brighton to sign up manager Graham Potter and five members of his backroom staff, having already spent more than £60m on full-back Marc Cucurella.
He added Albion head of recruitment Paul Winstanley two months later.
Boehly and his Clearlake consortium have consistently shown they have spending power, but having the biggest purse in the playground does not guarantee success.
Twelve months on, and with another £125m pocketed by Brighton for Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez, the two sides meet on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup so we have taken a look at how the two clubs’ business relationship has worked out for both parties.
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Of the seven staff members poached from the south coast, only Winstanley, assistant manager Bruno Saltor and goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts remain at Stamford Bridge.
Potter’s tenure did not work out.
Famously, the former Ostersunds and Swansea boss had never been to a Champions League match before being thrust into the bright lights of European football for his first Chelsea game.
He lasted just 206 days in the job, winning seven Premier League matches, with a worse points-per-game average (1.42) than all of his seven predecessors.
The innovative tactical approach that had served him well at his previous clubs failed to bring success. A dressing room packed with international superstars did not produce the performances or results required.
He was not helped by an extraordinary influx of new players, overseen by Winstanley, whose rise at Chelsea was underlined when he was appointed co-sporting director with Laurence Stewart, who joined from Monaco in February.
On Winstanley’s watch, Chelsea have spent close to £700m on players. In return, they accrued 44 points last season - their lowest final total since they were relegated from the top flight in 1987-88 - and have gathered only five points from six matches this time around.
Cucurella, who shone at Brighton, has struggled to justify his huge fee, and has yet to feature in the league this season.
Caicedo is a player with a big future - he epitomises Chelsea’s strategy of targeting the world’s best young players on long contracts to give them time to flourish.
As for Sanchez, he was deemed surplus to requirements by Brighton. So far, he has two clean sheet in six games and his save percentage of 73% gets him into the top seven for keepers to have featured in every match so far. Indeed, he made some outstanding saves as they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.
A lot of money has been invested at Chelsea in the pursuit of long-term success - time will tell if that approach is successful.
Brighton
Since May 2022, Chelsea have dropped from third in the Premier League to 14th while Brighton have progressed from ninth to third
Sixty miles south, Brighton have embarked on their first European campaign in strong financial health.
Shorn of their staff, Bloom and chief executive Paul Barber made astute appointments, demonstrating a remarkable ability to find talents around the world and turn them into Premier League stars.
When Potter left, Bloom looked to Roberto de Zerbi, who has maintained the upward momentum. He has taken the club into the Europa League after guiding them to sixth in the Premier League, the highest finish in their history. In 36 Premier League games, De Zerbi has won 17, with a points-per-game average of 1.61.
Behind the scenes, Brighton have maintained their progress too. Technical director David Weir and head of recruitment Sam Jewell have been ahead of the curve, finding ready-made replacements for soon-to-depart stars, so that the losses of Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard - alongside the sales to Chelsea - did not wound the team irreversibly.
A forward-thinking approach in the transfer market has brought exciting signings: young Spain forward Ansu Fati has joined on a season’s loan from Barcelona.
Such an approach won’t always run smoothly. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, 21, has potential to be the club’s long-term goalkeeper, if he can overcome the sort of error he made during Sunday’s win over Bournemouth, when Dominic Solanke was gifted an opening goal.
Chelsea cast-off Billy Gilmour, meanwhile, has made an impressive start to the season for De Zerbi’s side. He could eventually cost up to £10m - relatively little money in Premier League terms, and a fraction of the money Chelsea have spent since Boehly’s arrival.
Boehly’s pursuit of success has involved an aggressive headhunt of Brighton’s best staff and their players.
It is probably fair to say it has not worked out as intended. Yet.
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