Chelsea are not "off the radar" for financial fair play (FFP) breaches despite their amortisation techniques, according to finance expert Dan Plumley.
Since Chelsea were taken over by American businessman Todd Boehly in May 2022, the Blues have spent over £1billion in transfer fees, raising serious questions over whether the club is at risk of breaking the Premier League's financial regulations.
Much of the money has been spent on acquiring young talent on lengthy contracts, and though results have been well below par since Boehly's arrival, it seems the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino prior to this season is starting to pay dividends, with Chelsea finally on an upwards trajectory with an eye on European qualification.
Plumley has explained that while the lengthy contracts given out by Chelsea are helping them in regards to FFP, they may still have work to do if they are to adhere to UEFA's laws and therefore be allowed to play in their competitions, having been fined £8.6m by UEFA prior to this season.
"The thing that Chelsea did to protect themselves from that particular issue with profit and sustainability is the long contracts that were delivered to those players," Plumley told Stats Perform.
"Yes, there were some high fees, but there were also long contracts. You have to divide the transfer fee by the contract length in terms of number of years, and that's the charge per year for FFP.
"They were mindful of the regulations moving forward. And they've managed to sell a few players in accounting terms for pure profit that have come through the youth system.
"But that doesn't mean they're fully off the radar. I get the sense that they should be looking at having their house in order in that regard.
"We've got UEFA's regulations that if they want to get back into the Champions League, they have to conform to as well. They will need to be mindful that both the Premier League and UEFA have regulations moving forward."
Chelsea are one of a number of clubs reportedly toeing the line in relation to financial regulations, though it is potential indiscretions from the past that may cause them issues in the near future, with the stewardship of previous owner Roman Abramovich under investigation.
Plumley explained those potential wrongdoings, saying: "There's obviously the separate case with Chelsea at the minute around the past ownership and some of the things that have been looked into there in terms of potentially where some of those payments went.
"There's some allegations here that some of the payments have gone to other organisations and in some cases other football clubs from the previous owner of Chelsea when they were under the control of Roman Abramovich.
"That's a separate case in that regard, in terms of something a little bit different because payments from one club and Chelsea's link to the ownership structure from a time gone by to other clubs and other connected parties."
Germany give surprise maiden call up to Ortega
Julian Nagelsmann has handed a maiden Germany call-up to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in his squad for the upcoming Nations League games.
The 32-year-old has only made four appearances for Manchester City this season, two in the Champions League and two in the EFL Cup, and was a surprise inclusion in the squad.
Ortega, who joined City in 2022, is the second-choice goalkeeper behind Ederson but received plaudits after filling in at the end of last season when the Brazilian suffered an eye injury.
There is also a return for Borussia Dortmund's Felix Nmecha, who is called up for the first time since September 2023. He has scored two goals and registered two assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this season.
Kai Havertz is also in the squad, having pulled out of their games in the October international break due to a knee injury.
Germany have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, having collected 10 points from their opening four games.
Nagelsmann is not ready to ease up on the pressure when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary, with the first of those matches on November 16.
"After making sure of a spot in the quarter-finals, we now want to seal top spot in the group," said Nagelsmann.
"Reaching the Nations League final four next year is an important milestone on our way to the 2026 World Cup."
Germany squad in full:
Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Stefan Ortega (Manchester City), Robin Gosens (Fiorentina), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart).
Harwood-Bellis and Hall included in Carsley's final England squad
England interim boss Lee Carsley has named the final Three Lions squad of his tenure before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins at the start of next year.
Carsley handed first senior call-ups to Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle's Lewis Hall for their Nations League fixtures against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
Harwood-Bellis has played in all the Saints' Premier League fixtures so far this season, and is someone Carsley knows well.
The defender made 21 appearances under Carsley with England's Under-21's side, more than any other player during his time in charge.
Hall has also been in fine form. His 11 successful crosses and 15 chances created are totals only bettered by Anthony Gordon (15 and 20) in the Premier League for Newcastle.
The only other uncapped player in the squad is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, while there is no place for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.
Cole Palmer has also been handed a place in the 26-man squad despite missing Chelsea training this week after picking up a knock against Manchester United at the weekend.
Kobbie Mainoo misses out through injury along with Manchester City's John Stones. Nick Pope was also dropped from the squad, with Aaron Ramsdale coming in.
England face Group B2 leaders Greece in Athens on November 14 before rounding off their Nations League campaign at Wembley against Ireland three days later.
England squad in full:
Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton); Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton); Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool); Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).
Mbappe left out of France squad as 'one-off'
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches, with Didier Deschamps saying it is a "one-off decision".
Mbappe played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Deschamps did not say if the forward was injured.
The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.
The 25-year-old has struggled for form as of late, and although he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Madrid, he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings.
"I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," Deschamps told a press conference on Thursday. "Kylian wanted to come."
Meanwhile, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has received his first call-up, replacing Alphonse Areola in the squad. There are also recalls for Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante as the injured Aurelien Tchouameni misses out.
France face Israel in the first of their two games on November 14 before finishing their Nations League Group A2 campaign against Italy three days later.
France squad in full:
Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
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