Chelsea FC have elected to appeal the decision made by FIFA in relation to charges that they violated articles 18B and 19 of the Regulation on Transfers and the Status of Players (RTSP).
The London club, who are notorious for accruing an elite loan-army of youth prospects from all over the world, were handed a two-window sanction that would prohibit them from singing and registering new players during the Summer 2019 and Winter 2020 transfer windows.
Due to the lengthy appeals process, and having practical examples of the same situations happening to Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the past, it seems rather unlikely that they will serve the ban beginning with the Summer 2019 window.
Instead, the ban will begin after the appeals process has concluded and a final decision is rendered on the validity and length of the ban.
Specifically, Real Madrid had their ban reduced from two windows to one and it seems plausible that the same could happen with Chelsea as the cases have some similarities.
Either way, it would appear that the upcoming window will be unaffected and the opportunity to sign players will remain.
This may lead to a massive exodus of aging players on expiring contracts like David Luiz, Willian or Pedro.Add into the equation the possibility of Eden Hazard swapping London for Madrid or Callum Hudson-Odoi’s potential move to Bayern Munich, and the Blues would have plenty of flexibility in rebuilding the squad and acquiring players that fit Maurizio Sarri’s system, barring his own dismissal as boss.
Even if the two-window ban is upheld, Chelsea appear to be one of a handful of clubs who wouldn’t see it as a massive hurdle.
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Having first-team quality players like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi, Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko (and many, many others) out on loan, the club always has the options of selling or reintegrating them back into the squad and circumvent spending an exorbitant amount to prepare for two baron transfer periods.