2 days Ago By [email protected] (Samuel Meade, Alan Smith)
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest are anxiously awaiting Premier League guidance on whether they have satisfied profit and sustainability rules. Clubs had to submit their latest financial figures - for 2023-24 - on the close of business on New Year's Eve and the two Champions League hopefuls were among four clubs who had yet to file - along with Everton and Leicester City. Both clubs have had to be savvy to balance their accounts over the past 12 months, amid fears of potential points deductions should their recorded losses be worse than the maximum £105million permitted by the league.
Forest have experienced the wrath of failing to balance the books first hand. Last season they, along with Everton , were handed a points deductions. Clubs know they can no longer spend freely without fear of repercussions.
Big-spending Chelsea are enjoying their best season in years and could finally make a return to Europe's top table under Enzo Maresca. When submitting their figure they may have been allowed to include the £76m sale of two hotels at Stamford Bridge to a sister company with the same owners. And the absence of European football last season left a huge hole in their finances after they spent more than £200m in the summer.
Forest, after being punished last season, appear relatively confident that they can meet the threshold because of their transfer business. Back in the summer they pocketed nearly £50m from Lyon after selling two of their players to the French outfit and parted ways with backup goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who, less than a year after arriving from Benfica in a £4million move, joined Newcastle for £20million in one of the summer's so-called 'PSR deals' as clubs found loopholes to balance the 2023-24 books before June 30 became July 1 and the start of a new accounting year. His sale, as part of a deal that saw Elliott Anderson join from Newcastle in a £35million move - despite Newcastle not being keen to sell their homegrown midfielder - actually put Forest on the front foot when its comes to the business side of things.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team have since been the surprise package and had sat as high as second in the table before Arsenal's win over Brentford dropped them down to third. They head to his former club Wolves on Monday night very much in the European hunt, with supporters quietly hoping that they can produce one of the division's biggest surprises in recent years and finish in the top four. While both clubs - and Everton - are all anxiously awaiting the nod from the Premier League, it's understood all three are confident they will be OK.
Leicester are the team most concerned in the top flight. The Foxes posted a loss of £124m for the cycle in the season in which they were relegated. Last year's promotion from the Championship is likely to have proven costly too with the team boasting a host of quality players.
They won a legal battle in the summer to avoid starting the current season with a penalty because they were not under the Premier League's jurisdiction last season. They're in the bottom three and losing any points could cost them their top flight status come May. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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