The £75m star Chelsea should sell this summer to give them a chance to grow as a teamplaceholder image
The £75m star Chelsea should sell this summer to give them a chance to grow as a team | Getty Images
Chelsea have a lot of work to do in the summer transfer window - could selling a key player in the current team make their life easier?
Perhaps surprisingly, Chelsea’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca after a spat between manager and board doesn’t seem to have derailed the team too much in the short term. Liam Rosenior still has them on course for a Champions League place, just about, and the bleak early years of the BlueCo era continue to recede slowly into the rear-view mirror – none of which means that the club doesn’t have plenty of work to do this summer.
Chelsea have made so many mistakes in the transfer market in recent years that the squad remains uneven, with pressing needs for extra firepower up front, greater depth in midfield, improvements at the back and perhaps a new goalkeeper as well. All of that will be rather expensive, and the chances are that Chelsea – who have spent the last few years sailing close to the wind with UEFA’s financial fair play rules – may have to sell some of the current squad to make ends meet.
Chelsea have generally done a good job of getting good transfer fees for players that are deemed surplus to requirements, but there may be at least one player worth selling this summer whose departure wouldn’t be a profitable exercise. It may be time to cut ties with Wesley Fofana.
Why Chelsea should consider selling Wesley Fofana this summer
Finally, for the first time since he was signed from Leicester City in a deal worth up to £75m in 2022, Fofana is fit, healthy, and playing a fair amount of football. He’s even been playing perfectly well, perhaps surprising given what his body has been through over the past four years.
Between a ruptured ACL, two further knee injuries, hamstring surgery and a few more minor scrapes and illnesses, Fofana has missed a grand total of 126 Chelsea matches since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. That he is able to stand up, less still perform to an impressive level in the Premier League, feels like a minor miracle.
Fofana has filled in rather nicely for Levi Colwill since his team-mate seemingly stole all of the bad luck for himself last summer. He’s been dynamic on the ball, reliable in one-on-one situations and impressive in the air. By most key statistical metrics, he has outperformed Trevoh Chalobah, his regular defensive partner in Chelsea’s starting line-up, and has perhaps not received the praise that he deserves.
Still, Chelsea are planning a minor overhaul to their backline this summer, as evidenced by their ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of Rennes youngster Jérémy Jacquet, who will move to Liverpool in the summer.
A few members of the current squad, particularly Axel Disasi, Benoît Badiashile and perhaps Tosin Adarabioyo, are expected to be up for sale at the end of the season to make room – but even with their departures, Chelsea will have space to make further sales and still have sufficient defensive depth if new arrivals show up at Stamford Bridge. In that context, and with a pressing need for funds to buy new players without falling afoul of UEFA’s spending rules, selling Fofana may be worth considering.
Chelsea seem to have made it plain that they want to keep both Chalobah and Josh Acheapong around, are unlikely to look to sell Jorrel Hato so soon after his arrival, and while consideration was given to the sale of Levi Colwill back in 2024, he likely remains their best centre-back and is likely to have his market value depressed by a year on the sidelines. That could make Fofana the easiest high-value defender to move on from.
Why moving on from Fofana now makes sense
Marseille, Fofana’s hometown team, tried to sign him in 2024 and again in 2025, but failed to meet Chelsea’s valuation on both occasions. AC Milan have also been linked in the past, albeit tentatively. There is evidence of existing interest, but a season of largely good health and good performances, should serve to push both his value and volume of suitors up.
Chelsea may never find a better opportunity to sell Fofana for the kind of price he could fetch this summer if he manages to stay fit through until July. They wouldn’t get their £75m back, granted, but they will surely get more than they would have done last year had they sold to Marseille.
Were they to hang on and Fofana’s fitness was to break down once more, they would only face the prospect of losing more money while carrying a player on a high salary for the duration of a contract which still has three more years left to run. At 26 and coming off his first sustained period of good health for years, there is every chance that he is now as valuable to other teams as he will ever be again.
Perhaps Fofana defies the apparent odds, and stays fit and healthy for years to come, and becomes a productive performer at Stamford Bridge. It’s certainly possible. You would, however, have a tough time finding many people who would fancy those chances given his track record. This is, after all, a man who reportedly has more points on his driving license than he has Premier League appearances for Chelsea, even now.
Fofana may well prove to be the player Chelsea thought they were signing for such a vast sum a few years ago, but it’s a gamble that they can’t afford to take lightly when they’ve wasted so much money while still having so much spending left to do if they want to challenge Arsenal and Manchester City for titles going forward. Selling Fofana could be a financial step towards that future. Clinging on would be taking a chance.
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