The summer sales at Turf Moor show no signs of slowing down. Burnley, still licking their wounds after a swift and painful return to the Championship,...
The summer sales at Turf Moor show no signs of slowing down. Burnley, still licking their wounds after a swift and painful return to the Championship, are watching their squad get picked apart piece by piece. The next man out of the door is a 22 year old midfielder who has already built a reputation for being somewhat of a nomad. He is heading to Turkey, and the deal, valued at around £30 million, includes a rather interesting financial subplot for Chelsea.For the Blues, this is pure found money. A sell on clause inserted into a previous transfer is finally about to pay dividends. It is the kind of windfall that allows sporting directors to sleep a little easier at night, a quiet injection of cash that can be used to grease the wheels on a separate deal or simply balance the books. Given the financial fair play scrutiny that has been hanging over Stamford Bridge like a storm cloud, every penny of this Turkish lira will be welcomed with open arms.But spare a thought for the player himself. At 22, he is already on his fourth or fifth club in as many seasons. That is a lot of moving vans and a lot of new gaffer handshakes. You have to wonder if the constant upheaval has stunted his development or if it has forged a unique kind of tactical flexibility. He has played under different systems, different managers, and in different leagues. Now he adds the Super Lig to his CV, a league known for its chaos, its passion, and its occasional lack of defensive discipline.Burnley, for their part, have done decent business. Relegation is a financial catastrophe, but recovering £30 million for a player who was not exactly setting the world on fire in the Premier League is shrewd work. It is the kind of profit that keeps the lights on and helps fund a rebuild under the new man in the dugout. For Chelsea, it is just another data point in their sprawling loan and sell on empire. A quiet injection of capital from the Bosphorus. Not a bad day at the office for anyone involved, except perhaps the poor lad who has to pack his bags again. Squeaky bum time for him, but a nice payday for the suits.
