CHELSEA FIGHT ON
Blues lose appeal over transfer ban, but will take FIFA to court
CHELSEA will take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland after losing their appeal against FIFA’s decision to ban them from signing players during the next two transfer windows.
Manager Maurizio Sarri conceded yesterday that it will ‘not be easy’ to challenge for honours against clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool if he is unable to strengthen a squad until after the end of January 2020.
A statement from Chelsea said they were ‘very disappointed’ to lose their appeal and will now take the matter to CAS following an investigation into their signing of overseas Under 18 players.
‘It’s very difficult to cover the gap at the moment. We need to work, probably we need to do something from the market,’ said Sarri. ‘So it’s not easy, because the level of the top two is very, very high.’
At a time when Eden Hazard’s future of remains uncertain, Sarri said ideally the club need to buy two players this summer.
‘I think that we have to buy only one, two players, otherwise it’s very difficult to improve immediately,’ said Sarri. ‘I think we are a very good team, so we need only one, two players, no more.’
In their statement Chelsea said the club ‘categorically refutes the findings of the FIFA Appeal Committee’.
Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek suggested that a transfer ban could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Chelsea’s young talent and academy graduates, who have for so long been deprived of first-team opportunities.
The England midfielder, who this season broke into the first team along with Callum HudsonOdoi, said: ‘ When the young players come on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, they always get a fantastic reception. The fans respect us and believe in us.
‘That would be a good thing for us young players — to have an opportunity to play more, if we do get a ban. If the club is banned from making any transfers, then we’d have to keep the squad we hhave anddbbringi some off ththe loan players back in and that would give them an opportunity to play more.
‘ But, for me, that’s not something that should be used to get an opportunity to play. It should be down to hard work and playing well.’
Sarri also revealed that he is still to hold talks about summer dealings with the club’s senior director Marina Granovskaia.
Sarri said: ‘We spoke one month ago about the pre- season, the programme of next pre- season. But we didn’t speak about the market.’