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Chelsea are ready to make a big transfer mistake

By Rucker Haringey

Bertrand Traore of Ajaxduring the Dutch Eredivisie match between Ajax Amsterdam and Go Ahead Eagles at the Amsterdam Arena on May 07, 2017 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Bertrand Traore of Ajaxduring the Dutch Eredivisie match between Ajax Amsterdam and Go Ahead Eagles at the Amsterdam Arena on May 07, 2017 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea shouldn’t give up on Bertrand Traore

Antonio Conte and Chelsea are focused on adding established stars to the squad this summer. While that’s an understandable philosophy given the talent they already possess, it shouldn’t be their singular focus. Unfortunately, it appears that the Blues are prepared to forget all about some of their promising young talent.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the circumstances surrounding Bertrand Traore. The 21-year-old attacker has been on loan this season at Ajax. His stellar play is a big reason why the Eredivisie club find themselves headed to the Europa League final.

Traore has scored 14 goals and added four assists for Ajax this season in 38 total matches. He’s been particularly prolific during Europa League play. Four of his goals, and all four of his assists have come in 12 matches for his club during the competition.

While the competition in the Dutch league certainly isn’t equal to that of England’s top flight, those are still encouraging statistics for such a young player. Evidently the higher-ups at Chelsea haven’t been all that impressed.

Instead of bringing him back to Stamford Bridge for further development, reports from France claim they’re willing to part with him for just €10 million. That’s a paltry transfer fee for such a talented youngster in today’s transfer market. As a result, you can expect a host of Premier League clubs, such as Everton and Stoke City, to rush forward in hopes of bringing Traore to their club this summer.

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In fairness, it’s also being reported that Traore doesn’t want to go on loan again or become a substitute for Chelsea. That may be some of the reason why the Blues are willing to part with him. Perhaps he’s made it clear he wants to leave.

The more likely scenario though, is that Chelsea just don’t see much value in him. That’s a negative consequence of the transfer philosophy they’ve developed. Even when a young player goes out on a quality loan and performs well, there’s no path for him to make a real impact with the senior squad.

That results in talented players being cast aside from underwhelming transfer fees. The opportunity cost to Chelsea isn’t immense, but it’s still an inefficient use of resources. If they gave Traore the same chance to develop that many other Premier League clubs would, they could easily find themselves with an asset worth £40 or £50 million pounds. Instead, they’ll be content to sell him for a fraction of that value this summer.

Next: Antonio Conte wants to double his salary

Any way you add this up it equals a mistake for Chelsea. Letting an asset go before it blossoms into full value is bad economics. It may not catch up with Conte’s squad in the short-term, but it will have negative long-term effects at the club.

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