Todd Boley and Clearlake Capital prove there is a solution to the madness at Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca establishes Chelsea as one of the most exciting young teams in the world
Since Todd Boley and Clearlake Capital teamed up to acquire Chelsea Football Club from Roman Abramovich in May 2022, the Blues have acquired some of the most exciting young talent on the planet.
The American consortium initially faced intense criticism for spending hundreds of millions of dollars on undiscovered gemstones around the world. However, as players like Estebao Willian, secured well in advance of his actual arrival, are gradually introduced into the first team, there is evidence that there is logic behind the apparent confusion.
In June 2024, Chelsea signed the teenage prodigy in a deal worth an initial £29 million (€34 million). At that moment, many people scheduled Bowley and Clear Lake to take on this project, but it has since proven to be a smart business on and off the field.
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Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum with Bloomberg earlier this year, before the Blues won the Conference League and Club World Cup, the American billionaire explained why he is so keen on what awaits him at Stamford Bridge.
“I think we’re one of the best young teams out there,” Boley said. “We wanted to see if we could keep the team together for a long time, so we were signing seven-, eight-, nine-year deals early on.”
“To build a really good team, you need stability within the team and in the environment. The only way to achieve that is to put in the time. We built the team to reap the benefits of that.”
That said, Mirror Sport looked at the ‘most valuable teenagers’ at Stamford Bridge by the CIES Football Observatory and how they compare to players like Ramin Yamal.
Estevao Willian – £104m (€118.1m)
Estevao is ranked as the second most valuable teenager in the world, behind Lamine Yamal (£307.7m/€349.6m). The 18-year-old winger got off to a great start at Chelsea, scoring four goals and providing one assist in less than 700 minutes on the pitch.
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Jorel Hato – £59m (€67.1m)
CIES Football Observatory rates Hato, who Chelsea signed from Ajax for just £37m in the summer, as the third most valuable teenage defender. Barcelona’s Pau Kvarsi (£99.2m/€112.7m) tops the list, with Arsenal’s Miles Lewis-Skelly (£74.7m/€84.8m) once again in second place.
Marc Giu – £38.6m (€43.8m)
Chelsea signed Giu from Barcelona in July 2024 for just £5 million. The 19-year-old striker had a promising debut season, but just as he was about to start, he suffered an injury.
Chelsea wanted to give Giu more chances and loaned him to Sunderland for the summer. However, he was quickly recalled after Nicholas Jackson forced a move to Bayern Munich.
Tyrik George – £25.3m (€28.7m)
George has always been a standout for Enzo Maresca’s side, rarely making an impression in the big moments. The Cobham product has scored some important goals for Chelsea over the past year, earning him a reputation as one of the best teenage ball-strikers in the world.
Josh Achiampong – £23.3m (€26.5m)
It’s not often you see a teenage centre-back given a chance at the top level in his chosen position, with many being pushed out wide or into midfield. However, Achiampong has defied conventional wisdom and shown he has what it takes to become an important player for Chelsea.
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