Definitely a fraught topic. Given both club's PSR situations and Sawiris comments, it's pretty difficult to try and make the case that this isn't a "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" situation.
As for Chukwumeka, I don't think they're all that similar. If I have my timeline correct, Chukwumeka had just come off winning the u19 championship for England as their best player. And on top of that he had 10x the first-team experience Kellyman does. That still doesn't equate to a ton of actual match time, but that only highlights how raw a prospect this other kid is.
I'll take that bet.
There's got to be a dozen other u19 "wunderkids" Chelsea have already signed (and will yet sign) - what happens to them and on what basis does this kid with zero experience leapfrog them?
oh, it absolutely is. someone i follow put it best with this:
It seems like the moment our proposal on the limitation was rejected we immediately embarked on a process of "f*** you" transfers that skirt the edges of the rules without breaking them. And that is (paraphrased) what Sawiris said in the FT article.
Yeah, that seems like the right timeline. I agree they're not that similar, but it is somewhat of a benchmark (even though Kellyman is less experience, as you say). It is also widely reported that there is a strong relationship between the Villa and Chelsea hierarchies dating back to that Chukwumeka deal.
Idk what happens to all of them and I'm glad I don't have to deal with that situation. Though, it does sound like my PL team maybe 5 years into a football manager save