While the mind boggled at a record £870m Premier League spend during the summer transfer window, another statistic caught the eye from a club that was relatively prudent.
Chelsea's net outlay amounted to £38m - the fourth-highest in the Premier League - but Nathaniel Chalobah's move to Napoli took the number of Blues players out on loan to 33.
The club are not breaking any rules, and it is a pattern repeated across Europe, with Juventus reportedly owning an additional 58 players not in their first-team squad.
And THAT is how the greedy rich teams manage to keep even more of the money for themselves - by getting lower league teams to develop their players for them and then not paying any transfer fee. Thirty three players out on loan? How can that be allowed?
Chelsea's net outlay amounted to £38m - the fourth-highest in the Premier League - but Nathaniel Chalobah's move to Napoli took the number of Blues players out on loan to 33.
The club are not breaking any rules, and it is a pattern repeated across Europe, with Juventus reportedly owning an additional 58 players not in their first-team squad.
And THAT is how the greedy rich teams manage to keep even more of the money for themselves - by getting lower league teams to develop their players for them and then not paying any transfer fee. Thirty three players out on loan? How can that be allowed?
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