Aside from the contentious notions of a Premier League all-star game or fancy meals in Barcelona, Todd Boehly has also demonstrated a genuine interest in signing some of the brightest young prospects in world football.
The new owners of the club are finding this trend to be quite expensive, but the tactic is not absurd. Chelsea is betting on the so-called "next big thing" to live up to expectations and turn into the Neymar of ten years ago that Chelsea lost out on to Barcelona.
Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Omari Hutchison are three players with this potential that Chelsea acquired from Inter Milan, AsArsenal, respectively, over the summer.
The next on that list ahead of the January window is reportedly Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama.
The 18-year-old midfielder is understood to be in advanced talks with Chelsea over a £12million move in January. As first reported by Le 10 Sport and also covered by The Evening Standard, Chelsea have beaten out top European rivals PSG and Barcelona for the in-demand midfielder.
Although few would have heard of Santos' name before the links suddenly emerged earlier this week, those who have heaped praise on the youngster and his ability to excel in both aspects of the game in a box-to-box role. As well detailed in Peter Pankovski's scout report for Breaking The Lines on the Vasco gem, his already impressive frame has allowed him to eat up ground quickly and dominate in central areas.
It feels timely that news of this deal has come around given that some Chelsea fans reposted a story from 2019 on the club being interested in Las Palmas talent Pedri. The Spaniard would eventually move to Barcelona and is now a starter for his nation at the World Cup in Qatar.
Chelsea are never going to be able to snap up all of the brightest young talents, and as recent years have shown, keeping a hold of the ones developed at Cobham is a challenge in itself.
But it is clear the Boehly regime sees this route in investing in young players from outside the academy is one that could heap great rewards in the coming years.
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