Monday Coffee Talk: MU, Chelsea, and the Shopping Addiction

25/08/2025 23:26:00 TrophyTracker

After Levi Colwill suffered a knee injury and is expected to miss most of the season, Coach Enzo Maresca’s first response was that Chelsea must immediately add a new center-back.

1. He said: "The club knows exactly what I think. I believe we need a center-back. We are trying internal options, but as I have said, the club is fully aware of my opinion."

Of course, Colwill, who played 35 games last season for Chelsea, is a vital link. Maresca also explained his role in detail: "You know how important Levi was last season in the way we wanted to play. We often said we could create chances, attack, and develop the ball properly. Levi was very important in our ball progression role, and now he has to sit out.

"Last season, we played 64 matches with Levi and Tosin (Adarabioyo). Now that Levi is out, the only one doing that job well is Tosin. Besides, we have Fofana and Badiashile, but they are injured, so I made it clear that the club knows what I think about center-backs."

At first glance, everything seems logical. Losing a key center-back naturally means you need to bring in a new one. But writer Nick Miller of The Athletic posed a much more reasonable question in an article last week: Why don’t coaches TRAIN players rather than just demanding signings?

From an economic perspective, it’s quite amusing that Enzo Maresca, who has overseen 20 major transfers during his tenure totaling about £483 million ($653 million), still says more signings are needed.

And the fact is Chelsea is not lacking center-backs. Maresca currently has five other center-backs; including newcomer Jorrel Hato (mainly a left-back but can play center-back), that’s six; counting Axel Disasi, who is out of the plans, seven; and including young talent Aaron Anselmino, eight center-backs in total.

2. Looking more broadly, this seems to be a common trend in the Premier League: Coaches addicted to buying players, even believing that’s the only way to improve. Ruben Amorim brought Patrick Dorgu to MU in the winter transfer window for £25 million due to Luke Shaw’s injury, but since then, he has only played 13 games for the "Red Devils." Now, it’s rumored MU is searching for a new midfielder, even though Kobbie Mainoo wasn’t used in the match against Arsenal.

This shopping addiction actually reveals a real issue: Current coaches are genuinely confused and unsure how to make their teams perform better.

Coach Enzo Maresca still complains about lacking players, despite Chelsea spending hundreds of millions on new signings. Photo: Getty

Because professionals find solutions. Pep Guardiola is famous for pushing full-backs into midfield, shifting center-backs wide, turning the number 10 midfielder into a winger, or converting midfielders into center-backs. Liverpool’s title last season wasn’t due to new signings but because Arne Slot successfully restructured the existing squad, including Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, and Luis Diaz. Amorim did something similar with Geovany Quenda at Sporting Lisbon, who was originally a winger but was moved to full-back and performed excellently (he later moved to… Chelsea).

Aston Villa’s starting lineup against Newcastle earlier this month shows that transfers have never been the best solution. Seven players in that squad have remained since Unai Emery’s arrival in 2022, with only Emi Martinez missing due to suspension.

This highlights two points: First, Emery has done well developing the current group and creating a cohesive team; second, Villa’s transfer policy in recent years has failed.

Villa has signed 22 players since Emery arrived, but only four featured in the starting eleven that day: Bizot (Martinez’s new backup), Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, and Morgan Rogers, showing that buying players isn’t always the answer.

This trend is also creating sky-high transfer fees. MU spent about £200 million on four new players, yet things remain unsettled. Amorim wants to apply the same system that made him famous at Sporting Lisbon but has bought many new players without results so far.

3. Attitudes toward transfers, if examined carefully, can be very important. In the recent 5-0 win over Leeds United, Arsenal set a record: Coming off the bench at just 15 years and 235 days old, prodigy Max Dowman became the second youngest player in Arsenal and Premier League history to appear—only behind Ethan Nwaneri, who set the record in 2022 at 15 years and 181 days.

Mikel Arteta has revived a cherished tradition at this club: always giving young, even very young, players opportunities to grow. Buying new players is only a last resort.

Arsenal leads the table, and newcomer Viktor Gyokeres also impressed with a brace. These probably aren’t coincidences. When you’re not addicted to shopping, you stay much clearer-headed.

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