By Enitan Abdultawab

The question that came to mind when Chelsea FC announced the departure of midfielder Mason Mount to rival club Manchester United would be why exactly they are offloading a loads of players?

Chelsea FC, now under Argentine Mariucio Pochettino, embarked on an overhaul that’s seeing players head towards the exit door.

Recall that this is an exact opposite of the influx of players into the club in the summer and winter windows last season.

In total, Chelsea brought in 18 players with a total amount of not less than £500million.

Regrettably, this same club has released a total of eight players including Ngolo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Eduardo Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Cesar Azpilicueta and loan-bound Joao Felix.

It remains to be seen if Hakim Ziyech will find a club after he reportedly failed his medicals at Saudi Arabian outfit Al Nassr.

So why the outflow of players without?

New manager means new project

The club will be under the reins of Mauricio Pochettino soon and it is no news that the Argentine has hit the ground running.

The new coach will be hoping to help the team regain their place as he thinks they are the “best club in England”.

Thus, he believes he has the best project to win the club titles next season. As for the players, a new manager means a new project and some players always feel they might not be part of the project, thus seeking exit routes.

The FFP Factor

The 2021 Champions League winner are on the brinks of breaking the FIFA Financial Fair Play rule and the only way to stay above the waters is by offloading players.

Recall that the Premier League Financial Fair Play needs every club to balance the account books by ensuring that clubs account for transfer fees and taxes on time, so that every loss can be accounted for, especially for players who were awarded long-time contracts.

Unconvincing Todd Boelhy

Interestingly, Chelsea will not but agree that a couple of players are not convinced with the sporting project under America investor Todd Boely.

Just a year under Todd Boelhy, Chelsea have managed three coaches. What was in fact more shocking was why the American chose to sack Thomas Tuchel to be replaced by the then Brighton head coach Graham Potter.

Last season, the team experienced a tsunami of defeats and could not even manage to get a ticket to play in any European competition next season as they finished 12th on the league table.

Every match seemed like another dooms day; ill-fated expressions always written on the players’ faces.

All these factors have accelerated Chelsea’s players’ exodus and it remains to be seen if the mass movement was worth of it.