Clubs seek investigation over Christensen signing
Chelsea face inquiry over defender’s move Fabregas may leave to make way for new blood
Chelsea’s rivals want the Premier League to investigate claims that the club broke rules to sign central defender Andreas Christensen.
A report emerged last week that, according to documents obtained by Football Leaks, Chelsea employed Christensen’s father, Sten, as a scout on the same day they signed the Denmark international from Brondby in 2012.
Alleged copies of Chelsea’s consultancy agreements, published by Danish newspaper Politiken, state that Sten started working for the London club on July 1, 2012, the same day as his son, and was paid £11,400 per month plus VAT for four years – a total of £656,640 – while he was still working for Brondby as a goalkeeping coach.
Payments to the families of young players are prohibited, with Everton and Liverpool both having been fined by the Premier League and banned from signing under-18 players in recent years.
The Daily Telegraph understands that more than one Premier League club want Chelsea to be properly investigated over the allegation, which if proven could lead to a ban on signing young players.
The Premier League refused to comment on any specific case, but said: “If we receive any substantiated material that suggests our rules may have been breached, or relevant information has not been disclosed, we will investigate and have a track record of doing so.
“These processes are confidential and we do not comment publicly unless there is anything substantial to say.”
Manchester City were also dragged into the allegation that Chelsea paid Christensen’s father, with the Football Leaks documents claiming the Premier League champions had also been willing to break rules to sign him.
A City document headlined “Financial Summary of Youth Acquisitions” included Christensen with a valuation of £430,000 and an additional note: “£230,000 to family.” The document added: “We have information that Chelsea has offered to accommodate these numbers.”
Chelsea and City are among the five Premier League clubs operating under the threat of a Fifa transfer ban over the signings of under-18 players from abroad. It remains to be seen whether the double threat of transfer bans, regarding senior and young players, alters Chelsea’s strategy ahead of the January transfer window, in which a number of their fringe players are targets for other clubs.
Captain Gary Cahill has been told he can leave on loan, while AC Milan have made an inquiry over midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Like Cahill, Fabregas is out of contract at the end of the season. Allowing Fabregas to leave for nothing or for a nominal fee in January would make a big saving on the wage bill. AC Milan are not the only club interested in taking Fabregas, who has many admirers. French sources claim Paris St-germain are monitoring his situation. Maurizio Sarri, the head coach, and Chelsea will have big decisions to make over their midfielders ahead of January, with Ruben Loftuscheek and Danny Drinkwater also likely to attract interest.