It is not the kind of week a Chelsea owner usually chooses to go on business television. Appearing on Bloomberg two days after Enzo Le Fée’s penalty had given Sunderland their first Premier League win in nine attempts, Clearlake Capital’s José Feliciano was asked about the state of the club.
He answered with a public vote of confidence in his manager.
“We just had a tough weekend but there’s always the next weekend, we’re extremely excited about the team on the field, we’re very excited about our manager.”
Chelsea sit fifth after ten matches, two points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. The Sunday loss at the Stadium of Light was Xabi Alonso’s fourth league defeat of the campaign, and came only a fortnight after a first home league reverse of his tenure, a 2-0 defeat by Tottenham on 24 October in which Cole Palmer was sent off. In between, Chelsea also exited the League Cup on penalties at Liverpool.
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Sunderland goal follows October defeat by Tottenham
Tottenham had not won at Stamford Bridge since April 2018 before that October night, when a Mike Penders own goal and a late Mathys Tel finish punished the ten men in blue. At the Stadium of Light, Brian Brobbey drew the penalty from Levi Colwill that Le Fée converted in the 36th minute, Sky Sports reported. Chelsea dominated possession after the break but created just 0.53 expected goals to Sunderland’s 2.55.
Alonso offered no complaints afterwards.
“It could have been better. It’s progress but we want to be more consistent,” the Chelsea manager told reporters.
Clearlake’s first season in sole charge
Feliciano’s words land in a different ownership context from a year ago. On 16 September, Clearlake Capital bought out the stakes of Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, taking full control of Chelsea in a transaction that valued the club at around £5bn. Swiss investor Hansjörg Wyss remains a stakeholder, but strategic decisions now sit squarely with Feliciano and his Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali.
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The early answer to the run of form appears to be in the transfer market rather than the dugout. Chelsea are preparing a renewed move for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott in January, according to talkSPORT via Caught Offside, with Bournemouth reported to have softened their stance after turning down summer bids said to be worth around £64m. The 23-year-old England international is reportedly valued at more than £100m.
Chelsea host Leeds United when the Premier League resumes after the international break, before travelling to Nottingham Forest.
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