Reports stemming from the English media today suggest that Premier League giants Chelsea could find themselves in hot water, after the club’s recruitment team broke lockdown restrictions to clinch the signatures of a pair of young players.
Chelsea secure young talent
The story surrounding the actions of Chelsea’s staff members was brought to light this afternoon, in an article courtesy of the reliable football.london.
It is claimed that, over the weekend, those in charge of academy recruitment at Stamford Bridge travelled to the homes of ‘at least’ two eight-year-olds, to present the starlets with contracts.
Football.london go as far as to claim that they have seen photographic evidence of the meetings, featuring ‘the club’s local head of recruitment and another member of academy staff.’
Chelsea staff could be in hot water.https://t.co/5IOhtXz6QJ
— football.london (@Football_LDN) May 19, 2020
‘Disrespectful’
The most likely explanation for Chelsea’s rush to secure the signatures of the players in question is that the 3rd Saturday in May is the first date upon which players set to enter the under-9 age group become eligible for registration.
Significantly, though, it is assured that ‘other London clubs adhered to social distancing rules by recruiting players over Skype and Facetime instead of presenting them with physical contracts.’
As such, a backlash against the Blues could now be imminent, with a scout at a rival club having labelled the actions of Chelsea’s recruitment team ‘disrespectful’.
One of the two youngsters snapped up by the Pensioners is said to have been of keen interest to another of the Premier League’s academies, with the aforementioned rival scout having hinted that Chelsea were likely fully aware of the competition of other clubs.
It now remains to be seen whether a sanction may be forthcoming for those responsible.
Best Netflix, Amazon & YouTube football documentaries & movies to watch during coronavirus isolation
Best football podcasts to listen to during coronavirus quarantine
9 best football documentaries to watch on ESPN+ during COVID-19 quarantine
