Chelsea are not "off the radar" for financial fair play (FFP) breaches despite their amortisation techniques, according to finance expert Dan Plumley.
Since Chelsea were taken over by American businessman Todd Boehly in May 2022, the Blues have spent over £1billion in transfer fees, raising serious questions over whether the club is at risk of breaking the Premier League's financial regulations.
Much of the money has been spent on acquiring young talent on lengthy contracts, and though results have been well below par since Boehly's arrival, it seems the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino prior to this season is starting to pay dividends, with Chelsea finally on an upwards trajectory with an eye on European qualification.
Plumley has explained that while the lengthy contracts given out by Chelsea are helping them in regards to FFP, they may still have work to do if they are to adhere to UEFA's laws and therefore be allowed to play in their competitions, having been fined £8.6m by UEFA prior to this season.
"The thing that Chelsea did to protect themselves from that particular issue with profit and sustainability is the long contracts that were delivered to those players," Plumley told Stats Perform.
"Yes, there were some high fees, but there were also long contracts. You have to divide the transfer fee by the contract length in terms of number of years, and that's the charge per year for FFP.
"They were mindful of the regulations moving forward. And they've managed to sell a few players in accounting terms for pure profit that have come through the youth system.
"But that doesn't mean they're fully off the radar. I get the sense that they should be looking at having their house in order in that regard.
"We've got UEFA's regulations that if they want to get back into the Champions League, they have to conform to as well. They will need to be mindful that both the Premier League and UEFA have regulations moving forward."
Chelsea are one of a number of clubs reportedly toeing the line in relation to financial regulations, though it is potential indiscretions from the past that may cause them issues in the near future, with the stewardship of previous owner Roman Abramovich under investigation.
Plumley explained those potential wrongdoings, saying: "There's obviously the separate case with Chelsea at the minute around the past ownership and some of the things that have been looked into there in terms of potentially where some of those payments went.
"There's some allegations here that some of the payments have gone to other organisations and in some cases other football clubs from the previous owner of Chelsea when they were under the control of Roman Abramovich.
"That's a separate case in that regard, in terms of something a little bit different because payments from one club and Chelsea's link to the ownership structure from a time gone by to other clubs and other connected parties."
Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place
Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.
Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.
Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.
Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz.
Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card.
An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.
Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.
'Just work hard mate' – Postecoglou's simple answer to Tottenham's tricky question
Tottenham simply have to put in the hard graft as they look to salvage something from what is turning out to be a disappointing end to the campaign.
Spurs' Champions League hopes appear to be fading fast after they lost for a third straight game in the Premier League, going down 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
Tottenham have four games remaining, albeit that includes meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City, and they are seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
They were particularly vulnerable from set-pieces once again, with both of Chelsea's goals coming from such scenarios.
Asked how Spurs can turn it around, Postecoglou said told BBC Sport: "Just hard work mate, there's no major formula. We will work hard and make sure we get it right."
He added: "It wasn't a great night for us. We didn't play at the levels we needed to and didn't deserve something from it.
"We lacked belief and conviction in our game. I don't know if it is low confidence but we are not playing with the mindset we need to play the football we want to and that is something I have to look at.
"It is on me to fix it. That is what we will be doing. We had bigger issues tonight than set pieces."
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Tottenham boss said: "I feel like we've lost a bit of belief and conviction in our football and that is on me to change that.
"It wasn't about conceding the [first] goal, it was our approach to playing football and we were nowhere near good enough. That is on me.
"We've been in a bit of a grind for a while now, that is part of our challenge and part of our growth. We have to go out there and perform and sometimes you have to grind out. We were poor today."
Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, meanwhile, conceded Champions League qualification looks out of sight.
"It will be difficult. I don't want to look up to the Champions League after this game, it was not a good performance from us and it is important we play a good game on Sunday," he said.
Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, became the first manager to complete a Premier League double over Tottenham having previously managed them in the competition.
Chelsea are up to eighth, just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
"So happy and so pleased. So happy for our players," Pochettino said.
"The first half was fantastic. Then you have to contain and suffer. Tottenham have quality players. Not too much to say, all credit to the players."
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Chalobah and Jackson goals dent Spurs' top-four hopes
Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson scored as Chelsea dealt a huge blow to Tottenham's Champions League hopes, recording a 2-0 derby win over Mauricio Pochettino's old club at Stamford Bridge.
Exactly eight years on from the memorable "Battle of the Bridge" between the teams, which saw nine Spurs players booked in a fiery 2-2 draw that confirmed Leicester City as champions, Chelsea inflicted more woe upon their rivals.
Spurs paid for lacklustre set-piece defending midway through the first half as Chalobah headed Conor Gallagher's free-kick home, then Jackson pounced when Cole Palmer rattled the crossbar from another dead ball 72 minutes in.
Ange Postecoglou's side were far from their free-flowing best and have now lost three straight Premier League games. They stay fifth, seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with just one game in hand.
Chelsea, meanwhile, climb above West Ham into eighth, just three points adrift of Manchester United in sixth.
The Blues went agonisingly close to a fifth-minute lead as Jackson raced through on goal to slot his effort under Guglielmo Vicario, but Micky van de Ven raced back to hook it off the line and Palmer could not sort his feet out on the rebound.
Chelsea were ahead after 24 minutes, though, as Chalobah met Gallagher's deep free-kick with a looping header into the top-right corner, the goal being confirmed by VAR following a check for a possible foul by Marc Cucurella.
Mykhailo Mudryk went close with a curling effort as Tottenham continued to toil, the visitors' best chance of the first half coming when Cristian Romero headed Pedro Porro's free-kick wide.
Ange Postecoglou cut an animated figure before half-time, and his side improved after the restart, but Chelsea could have had a second when Palmer shot over at the end of a promising break.
Chelsea did double their advantage with 18 minutes to play, the opportunistic Jackson heading into an unguarded net after Palmer's free-kick clattered off the woodwork with Vicario at full stretch.
Tottenham never looked like responding from there, and they now need a minor miracle to secure a top-four finish.
Pochettino haunts former employers
Having also overseen Chelsea's memorable 4-1 win in November's return fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pochettino completed a league double over his former employers.
He is the first coach to ever beat Spurs home and away in a single Premier League campaign having previously managed them in the competition.
The Argentine's first season at Stamford Bridge may not have gone entirely to plan, but there may just be green shoots of recovery emerging in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Having endured a run of one win in 14 home Premier League games between March and November last year (seven draws, six losses), Chelsea – who face West Ham next – have now won eight of their last 10 on their own turf (one draw, one defeat).
Set-pieces costing Spurs
Tottenham have a set-piece problem. Arsenal ruthlessly exploited some slack marking from their neighbours to score two goals from corners in Sunday's north London derby, and on Thursday, it was two free-kicks that undid Postecoglou's men.
Prior to this game, Spurs had conceded 12 goals from set-pieces, excluding penalties, in the Premier League this season. Only Manchester United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) had allowed opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from such situations than their 14.3.
They did not learn their lesson, Emerson Royal and Brennan Johnson getting nowhere near Chalobah as he headed home from a routine delivery to the back post for the opener.
Those fine margins could prove incredibly costly, with Tottenham now a long way adrift of top-four rivals Aston Villa with daunting fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City still to come.
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