Chelsea: Brazilian winger Angelo signs for Al-Nassr for £19.1m

BBC Sport football news reporter Nizaar Kinsella

The sale of Angelo to Al-Nassr is important for Chelsea as it helps the club to balance its finances.

The Blues will receive almost £6m profit on the transfer fee they paid to Santos last summer, taking the total number of players sold to £188.9m.

If the money from loan fees and sell-on clauses were also made public and included, the total figure would likely be more than £200m.

That offsets the £208.5million spent on the purchase of 11 players, excluding Genk goalkeeper Mike Penders and Palmeiras winger Estavao Willian, who will join the club in 2025.

While Chelsea are taking a chaotic approach – they are one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market each summer under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital – it could be both profitable and highlight the fact that there is indeed a plan.

The plan is to sign young players who have not yet reached their maximum value and then wait for them to develop into first-team players, or sell them ruthlessly for a quick profit if necessary.

Many within the club believe that the mere association with Chelsea increases the value of players, while they also use Strasbourg, where Angelo played last season, as a location to loan players out before selling them.

Chelsea raised eyebrows when they signed Angelo, an out-of-form winger who will struggle to break through in Brazil in 2023. However, these figures underline that the prospect of winning is a reason for signing so many young players.