London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has told Chelsea’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali to get in contact with him.
Boehly and Eghbali have invested a lot of money into signings to help their team and club grow, and it is likely to be a similar theme this summer.
Chelsea could sign Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen and a host of other players in a bid to improve Enzo Maresca‘s side.
For the club as a whole to grow further, though, the Blues need a new stadium. And that is what Khan wants to talk to Boehly and Eghbali about.
Sadiq Khan claims Stamford Bridge is ‘too small’
Boehly hopes to build a new stadium while at Chelsea, and it is a matter that Khan wants to discuss with the American.
In the mayor’s eyes, Stamford Bridge at the moment is way “too small”, especially compared to other Premier League grounds in London.
“My message to Chelsea is come and speak to us in relation to what you want to do,” Khan recently told The Times. “Chelsea are the victims of their success, and Stamford Bridge is now too small for them. After all, this is a team that has twice won the Champions League.
“We work closely with all seven of our Premier League clubs but I’m sure Chelsea look with some envy at the stadiums some of their rivals in London have.
“We’re really keen to make sure that Chelsea, as we are with all our clubs, continue to flourish and thrive, so we’re open to talking to Chelsea about what plans they have. At the moment they’ve not approached us. But we’re here.”
Inside of the capital, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all have larger grounds than Chelsea.
In the north of England, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Newcastle United also have stadiums that can hold more spectators than the Bridge.
It means all of Chelsea’s traditional big six rivals, as well as Newcastle, are bringing in more gate money than the Blues. It is something that Chelsea need to fix, especially with the club no longer guaranteed a place in the Champions League.
Opta’s supercomputer does not fancy Chelsea in the current race for Champions League qualification, predicting that Maresca’s men will miss out on a spot in the top five.
Stamford Bridge dilemma could tear apart Chelsea ownership
It is quite difficult for Chelsea to go to Khan with any stadium plans when the club are not exactly sure what they are doing.
Boehly spoke to Bloomberg last month and suggested that he and Clearlake Capital still need to agree on the future of Stamford Bridge and that a divorce between the two parties could happen if that does not occur.
“We have to think long term about what we’re trying to accomplish,” Boehly said. “We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out. That’s going to be where we’re either aligned or we ultimately decide to go different ways.”
