Chelsea have to sell eight players to sign a new striker this summer - these are the players they can cut.
Chelsea simply refuse to stop spending. Just last week, The Athletic reported that the club had reached deals worth up to €74m (£62.2m) to sign Sporting youngsters Geovany Quenda and Dário Essugo, bringing the Blues’ total spend on future prospects who haven’t even joined the club yet to around £115m – and they still need to sign a striker. Something, frankly, has to give.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Sunday that with at least forward still a priority for the summer despite their record-shattering expenditure, Chelsea are planning to sell seven or eight players in order to clear space on the balance sheet – but who can they sell to make enough money to keep themselves on the right side of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules?
The bomb squad members bound to go
Given the sheer size of Chelsea’s squad, they would likely have to let some players leave even if financial regulations didn’t create any issues whatsoever – and their notorious ‘bomb squad’ of players deemed surplus to requirements by either Enzo Maresca or the club’s upper management seems like their most important source of saleable assets.
Axel Disasi, Ben Chilwell, João Félix, Raheem Sterling and Kepa Arrizabalaga are all big-name and big-money players who are on the books at Stamford Bridge while currently on loan elsewhere, and it is likely that the club will want to move all four on on a more permanent basis this summer – Romano’s reporting even mentioned both Disasi and Kepa by name.
The tricky part is finding buyers. Kepa reportedly has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for £5m if certain conditions are met, and given that he has established himself as Bournemouth’s number one while on loan, that seems like a deal that would almost certainly get made – but it wouldn’t really touch the sides of the bank balance, especially given that he was signed for over £70m in the first place.
None of Disasi, Chilwell, Sterling or Félix’s current loan deals are believed to include purchase clauses with their current clubs, and they have enjoyed (or endured) mixed success in their loan spells. AC Milan are reputedly keen to sign Félix permanently, but it’s less clear whether there are buyers for the others, especially given their mostly substantial wages. Sterling, in particular, may prove challenging to shift outside of another loan agreement, and it is unlikely that Chelsea would make their money back on any deals involving these players. More substantial sales will need to be found.
Nkunku among players who could bring in money
If Chelsea do need to look at more profitable sales, than Christopher Nkunku likely tops the list. Since signing from RB Leipzig for a reported £52m, he has managed 17 goals in 52 appearances but his return in the Premier League has been poor, with just six strikes in 36 matches.
Nicolas Jackson’s injury handed Nkunku a chance to prove his value, but he hasn’t taken it, and if another striker is at the top of Chelsea’s shopping list then he will likely be forced out. Fortunately, given that he is 27 and has a stellar track record in the Bundesliga behind him, it’s probable that a big-money buyer could be found, even if it’s unlikely that his value is as high as it was when he first moved to Stamford Bridge, especially given the injuries that he has endured.
Elsewhere, it’s possible that Chelsea will find someone willing to take a punt on Mykhaylo Mudryk, although his extremely lengthy contract could make him harder to shift – but perhaps the player himself would be willing to take a pay cut in order to get some regular minutes and a chance to live up to his potential at last.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another expensive signing who could be shopped out, and at 26 there are bound to be teams further down the Premier League ladder who would be happy to give him the starts Maresca so rarely has.
There is always money to be made from youngsters, too, and Chelsea have proven more than willing to sell their starlets barely five minutes after signing them when a quick buck can be made – they could likely do well out of shipping the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Renato Veiga and Lesley Ugochukwu out to new clubs, although at some point they do need to determine which players have to be held on to in order to offer squad depth.
Finding buyers for the bigger-ticket players will be key if Chelsea are to navigate another series of transfers and squad overhauls without falling too far into the black. The club has consistently spent big on players who have failed to perform, and there’s only so long that can continue before the bill comes due and it becomes impossible to keep adding new signing while remaining compliant with PSR.
The good news is that Chelsea have saleable assets, albeit ones they will mostly make a loss on, and it isn’t hard to find a list of eight players that can be got rid of, even if many of those on the biggest contracts will be tricky to shift in a way that is financially sustainable. This summer could be crucial for the club’s future, and for once the players that Chelsea sell could be more impactful than those they buy.
Related topics:ChelseaFabrizio RomanoEnzo Maresca
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.