Chelsea are ready to auction off a whole host of players who spent last season out on loan, according to reports. Andrey Santos could be the sole first-team graduate of the group after excelling at partner club Strasbourg, with the Brazilian set to be given a shot at the Club World Cup.
For the rest of the Blues’ sizable loaned-out contingent, the writing looks to be on the wall as Enzo Maresca sets about ruthlessly trimming down his playing squad. Chelsea have spent heavily on transfers since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control of the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022, which has left Maresca with a surplus of talent.
According to BBC Sport, the list of stars for sale this summer includes Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi, Djordje Petrovic, Armando Broja, Joao Felix, Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga also spent last campaign out on loan as he became a first-team regular at Bournemouth, but the Spaniard is about to be taken off the market as he closes in on a £5million move to Chelsea‘s London rivals, Arsenal.
The Blues could raise a huge chunk of cash and free up masses of space on the wage bill if they manage to find permanent exits for the group in question. Sterling, who collected dust on the Arsenal bench for most of last term, picks up in the region of £300,000 a week.
Chilwell and Felix are also big earners, while the likes of Chukwuemeka and Veiga could fetch respectable transfer fees, as although they failed to find a breakthrough at Stamford Bridge, they are still highly-regarded young talents.
Aside from those on the first-team chopping block, a collection of academy graduates are in line to be sold for pure profit. Zak Sturge spent the second half of last season on loan at Millwall, and talks are underway for the move to be made permanent.
Leo Castledine is on the hunt for a new club, with Alex Matos and Alfie Gilchrist looking to follow him out of the exit door. Although much of Chelsea‘s transfer efforts will centre around finding moves for those deemed surplus to requirements, the weight shedding has not stopped them bringing in new additions.
Pre-agreed moves for Kendry Paez, Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo and Estevao Willian have formally gone through since the summer window opened, and Liam Delap has been unveiled following his £30m switch from Ipswich Town.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk