Chelsea could now be set to offload three more members of their squad alongside the heavily reported Ben Chilwell in January, according to fresh reports, with Enzo Maresca ready to greenlight their departures.
Chelsea chasing Premier League title
Though Blues boss Maresca continues to downplay Chelsea's chances of winning the Premier League, their 2-1 win over Brentford moved them to within just two points of Liverpool, who have a game in hand on the Blues.
Goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson ensured that Chelsea picked up all three points against their London rivals, a result which moved them four points clear of Arsenal in third and left them as Liverpool's primary challenger for the title after a weekend where all of Arsenal, Manchester City and Arne Slot's side dropped points. Despite this, Maresca refused to get carried away with his side.
"It's not about how many games we win. It's about being realistic. There are things we have to do better. That's why I said for me we are not ready," he explained after the game.
The Blues have an excellent chance to continue piling the pressure on their fellow challengers in the coming weeks though, as they face a favourable fixture list on paper, while their two squad system has negated the potential fatigue that European competitions often add to domestic fixtures.
Chelsea's next five Premier League games
Everton (Away)
Fulham (Home)
Ipswich Town (Away)
Crystal Palace (Away)
Bournemouth (Home)
Despite their impressive start to the season, however, there are still issues to sort out in the January transfer window, which is shaping to be a busy one for the Blues.
Four players set to leave
It is already widely accepted that Chilwell will leave the club in January should he be able to find a suitor, with the Chelsea defender yet to feature in the Premier League this season despite no injury concerns and having failed to complete a move away in the summer. But now, a fresh report suggests that he will be joined by three more players, with all of Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei on the chopping block.
Martin-Odegaard-Romeo-Lavia Related
[Maresca could fix Lavia hole by unleashing "very important" Chelsea star](https://www.footballfancast.com/maresca-can-fix-lavia-hole-with-chelsea-ace-marc-cucurella/ "Maresca could fix Lavia hole by unleashing "very important" Chelsea star")
Enzo Maresca can fix a Lavia sized hole with "important" Chelsea ace.
Dewsbury-Hall only arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer, joining Maresca in making the switch from Leicester City. Though Maresca has insisted that he is "very happy" with the midfielder, the Englishman has yet to start a Premier League game for his new club, and is behind all of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia in the pecking order.
According to a report from TEAMtalk, he could be on the move as soon as January, while Carney Chukwuemeka and Casadei could both join him, having also barely featured for the Blues this campaign and with the club now ready to sell all three midfielders midway through the campaign.
Chelsea-Nkunku-Casadei-Disasi-Badiashile
Any permanent deals are likely to be complicated by wage demands, with the trio taking home around £188,000 a week between them, about £10m per year, while Chelsea will be keen to recoup as much of the close to £60m outlay on the trio too.
However, the Blues are open to loan deals for the trio too, which could help accelerate their departures from west London, with all three attracting interest from across Europe.