There has been so much change at Chelsea in three years of the current ownership, so supporters may still hesitate to guess exactly what next season’s squad will look like.
We’ve seen a major turnover of the Chelsea squad across recent transfer windows. Even though the Blues are competing in the Club World Cup right now, they are busy away from the pitch with plenty of business.
Liam Delap has impressed already since his summer arrival from Ipswich Town. On top of that, the Blues are reportedly expected to complete the signings of Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens and Brighton’s Joao Pedro imminently. Chelsea still want a new goalkeeper and centre-back to join them, too.
As for outgoings, it’s been claimed that Chelsea believe they will need to start offloading players.
There are numerous Blues players linked with possible exits in this window, and the group will need to be trimmed down to a more reasonable size for head coach Enzo Maresca to manage.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca celebrates the Club World Cup victory against Benfica.
Photo by Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
What Enzo Maresca wants Chelsea’s squad to be
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are in a strong position in the transfer market because of their early business.
The report adds that Maresca wants a first-team squad of 22 or 23 players going into the new season. Apparently, eight or nine of whom he wants to be attacking players.
Chelsea operated intelligently to ship out a lot of players on loan for the 2024/25 season. Could we see something similar in the next couple of months?
Chelsea winger Noni Madueke arrives ahead of the Club World Cup match against Benfica.
Photo by Ira L. Black – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
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It could be bad news for Noni Madueke
If Maresca only has room for eight or nine attackers in the Blues squad next season, we’re looking at Noni Madueke and guessing he could be one player in danger of not being in the club’s plans.
There are a lot of attacking options at the club, and some of them have uncertain futures.
Liam Delap
Nicolas Jackson
Joao Pedro
Jamie Gittens
Pedro Neto
Cole Palmer
Estevao Willian
Noni Madueke
Marc Guiu
Christopher Nkunku
Joao Felix
Tyrique George
Chelsea are expected to receive ‘big offers’ for Madueke after the Club World Cup, so we’re looking at him as vulnerable from the list of names above. Perhaps it could be easier to cash in on the England international than to sell flops such as Nkunku or Felix.
The Chelsea Chronicle has been told Chelsea are willing to move on from Madueke.
The 23-year-old winger has shown flashes of brilliance in his Blues career to date, scoring 20 goals in 90 first-team appearances, but he’s still searching for major consistency in his game.