The Americanisation of Chelsea continues as club get set to introduce basketball chief
Chelsea Football Club have certainly undergone a makeover ever since the club was sold by Roman Abramovich to Clearlake Capital.
The upheaval both on and off the pitch has been extensive, and in the early stages of the new ownership, when Todd Boehly had a more hands on role than he does now, there did seem to be a feeling that the businessman didn’t really understand the nuance of English sport.
It was as if he was looking to run the operation in a manner more akin to the American way of doing things, and that was never going to work in East London.
Chelsea to hire Sachin Gupta
The long contracts that some Chelsea players are currently on is perhaps the most visible ‘Americanisation’ of the club, with such deals normally only associated with US basketball, hockey and American football stars.
Commercially, things have changed too, though there’s a cogent argument for the same to have occurred as the club negotiates a new way forward.
News that the club are about to introduce an executive to the club whose background is in US basketball might raise a few eyebrows again.
According to The Athletic (subscription required), Minnesota Timberwolves vice president, Sachin Gupta, is being brought on board.
At the Timberwolves since 2021, having joined them to assist in the collective bargaining agreement and team analytics, although his Chelsea role isn’t specified at this stage, one could understand if the 42-year-old would be taking up a similar role at Stamford Bridge.
Whilst taking a cue from people outside of football isn’t new, it does beg the question as to whether there isn’t anyone available from a football background that has the necessary strategic and analytic expertise to do the job.
Chelsea have made enough poor decisions in the recent past to know that if this hire doesn’t work out, it’s another nail in the owner’s coffin.
Top photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
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