Chronicle Editor
LONDON. – Chelsea could be forced to pay up to £7.65million to Brighton for two academy talents after an FA tribunal ruling.
A tribunal has concluded for two Chelsea signings from Brighton, fullback Zak Sturge, now 19, and striker Shumaira Mheuka, 16, to fix the sums the Blues must pay.
Mheuka will cost an initial £1m, rising to a potential £4.25m. He would need to play 100 games for Chelsea and earn a cap for England for the Seagulls to receive the full amount.
Similarly, the £3.15m awarded for Sturge is heavily incentivised, with a further £250,000 due if he plays for England.
The pair joined Chelsea in the summer of 2022, just after Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the Stamford Bridge club.
Both players remain at Chelsea, with Sturge having spent six months on loan at Peterborough United, and Mheuka has begun playing in the Under-18s.
They were signed by the academy, not the ownership directly, but are part of a roughly £225m spent on 11 players and staff from Brighton since the takeover, including payments for manager Graham Potter, sporting director Paul Winstanley and several players, including Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo.
It is more than double the sum paid to build Brighton’s current home, the Amex Stadium. – London Evening Standard
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter