Chelsea have only three games left. We need to get rid of a group of players.
Grigory Telingater August 27, 2024, 14:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Lukaku, Sterling, Chilwell and Kepa were also suspended.
Chelsea’s new management has been collecting footballers for five transfer windows. This has led to the fact that there is now a huge oversupply. In mid-August, The Athletic counted 53 players under contract. Since then, nine people have been released: Conor Gallagher, Diego Moreira, Mason Burstow, Lesley Ugochukwu, Alfie Gilchrist, Caleb Wylie, Bashir Humphreys, Gabriel Slonina and Aaron Anselmino (the first three are full-fledged transfers, the remaining six are loans).
There is still a long way to go. The Chelsea manager was asked at a press conference what it was like to train so many people. He replied:
Enzo Maresca
Chelsea head coach
“I already have a core squad of 11 players, although it will change as the season progresses. I don’t work with 42 players, as they say. I have 21 players training. There were 20 people in the previous lesson. The remaining 15-20 players train separately. I don’t even see them.”
Both famous and young footballers have found themselves in limbo. Here are the five biggest names Chelsea are looking to offload in the remaining three-and-a-half days (the English transfer window closes on August 30 at 23:00 London time or 1:00 Moscow time).
Romelu Lukaku
A difficult legacy from the time of Roman Abramovich. The striker failed at Chelsea (especially considering the scandalous interview and the transfer fee of 115 million euros), but at the same time he did well in the Italian championship. It is logical that Napoli is now negotiating the transfer of Lukaku. In addition, he has a successful experience working with Antonio Conte. The clubs negotiate around 30 million euros + bonuses.
Romelu Lukaku
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Raheem Sterling
It was with him that the strangest situation arose. The winger went to the training ground and clearly played quite a bit. He appeared on the field in all friendly matches (either as a starter or as a substitute). Sterling scored against City in one of the matches of the tour of the United States. However, the first matchday of the Premier League came and the footballer disappeared. After not being included in the squad for the first match of the season, the footballer’s representatives issued a statement. It all came down to the fact that even they understood why this happened. It is often mentioned that they want to give up the winger because of his large salary (it was given by the new Chelsea management, the previous management had nothing to do with it). Pedro Neto already wears Sterling’s number seven.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
The number of goalkeepers at Chelsea has already become a meme. We wrote more about it here. The Spaniard spent last season on loan at Real Madrid, but this season the club decided that Thibaut Courtois and Andrei Lunin would be enough for him. It was reported that Kepa could continue his career in Italy, but, according to Fabrizio Romano, the goalkeeper is likely to end up on a one-year loan at Bournemouth. At the same time, the contract with Chelsea lasts for two more years, until the summer of 2026.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Ben Chilwell
And Chelsea decided to let him go as well, even though there aren’t many left-backs in the squad. He has been plagued by injuries for the past three seasons. The player was offered to Manchester United, but this club has its own perpetually injured left-back: Luke Shaw. However, Chilwell (like Sterling) could still be part of a swap deal for Jadon Sancho.
Trevo Chalobah
Last summer he was not loaned to Inter, Bayern or Tottenham. The fact is that Chelsea only considered selling the player, not renting him. As a result, the defender stayed at the club and played 13 Premier League games. This summer the situation has not changed. Chelsea are aiming to sell. The club has a large number of central defenders (especially right-footed ones).
Trevo Chalobah
Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
There are several less star players who are close to being transferred:
Striker Armando Broya was close to joining Ipswich, but the move fell through at the last moment. According to one report, due to a medical, former Loko player Tino Anjorin is on the verge of moving to Empoli; defensive midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is looking for employment options, despite Lavia’s injury. According to The Athletic, Chelsea are considering selling Axel Disasi, David; Washington, Djordje Petrovic, Cesare Casadei, Datro Fofana and others.
Madueke could also leave Chelsea, but after this he will clearly stay:
A unique 24 hours for a Chelsea player. He insulted his opponent and scored a hat-trick in 14 minutes
