It’s spending season at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are throwing money around like there’s no tomorrow, with Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner already completing expensive moves to London, and there’s more to come.
Roman Abramovich is digging deep in his pockets to help Chelsea snap up some of the world’s top talents and take this squad rebuild to the next level. If reports are to be believed, the Blues are contemplating an overall spend of close to £200m this summer.
However, Abramovich can only finance so much. If he drops a cool £80m or so on Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, the well might need topping up with a handful of player sales. Fortunately for Chelsea (or rather unfortunately), the squad is full of players who could be jettisoned for some additional cash without actually damaging the team.
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Spare money has already been put aside after the departures of high-earners Willian and Pedro, but there needs to be more. If Chelsea want a new goalkeeper, left-back and centre-back, some extra players are going to have to jump ship.
Let’s see who that should be.
1. Emerson
Emerson Palmieri
Chelsea need to find a left-back who can actually defend. They’re bad enough at the back even with everyone trying their hardest, they can’t afford slackers.
Brought in as part of Antonio Conte’s quest to turn Chelsea into Serie A United, Emerson has done very little during his two years at the Bridge. Well, apart from frustrate fans with his inability to track back.
You could say the same about Marcos Alonso, but at least the Spaniard offers a genuine threat when played as a wing-back. He has his upsides, so it should be Emerson who is sacrificed for bigger and better things.
Potential Destination: Inter
Potential Price: £18m
2. Tiemoué Bakayoko
Remember Tiemoué Bakayoko? The £40m man who hasn’t actually played for Chelsea for two years? Yeah, he’s still kicking about at the Bridge.
It’s painfully clear that Bakayoko will never rebuild his career in London, and as a 26-year-old with a solid reputation in mainland Europe, he comes with enough resale value to make selling him genuinely beneficial.
If Chelsea can turn Bakayoko into a decent chunk of a player who actually does have a future at the Bridge, it’s a no-brainer.
Potential Destination: AC Milan
Potential Price: £22m
3. Jorginho
If Chelsea are going to make big money by selling one player, it’s definitely going to be Jorginho.
While the regista experiment hasn’t totally failed at the Bridge, it hasn’t gone swimmingly. Two years into his time at the club and many fans are still questioning what it is Jorginho actually does, which is why he has been made available this summer.
A return to Italy seems to be on the cards, and if Chelsea’s phone blows up with a big offer, it would be tough to turn down.
Potential Destination: Roma
Potential Price: £40m
4. Kepa Arrizabalaga
Can somebody just offer £71.6m to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga so we can forget this horrible nightmare even happened?
The goalkeeper’s historically poor season has left Frank Lampard determined to find a new shot stopper, which means that Arrizabalaga’s time at the club is almost certainly up.
Getting anywhere close to his world-record price tag is obviously not happening, but Chelsea might need to cut their losses and run. If the offer isn’t too humiliating, accept it.
Potential Destination: Valencia
Potential Price: £35m
5. Davide Zappacosta
Davide Zappacosta has never looked like anything more than a backup right-back, and his fate was sealed when he was shipped out on loan to Roma last season.
A cruciate ligament injury derailed the year for the Italian, but he did manage to bounce back and make an impression after lockdown, rescuing some of his reputation in Italy.
Another loan seems like the most likely option, especially off the back of such a serious injury, but Chelsea should be looking for a permanent buyer.
6. Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley is a solid player. He’s decent. Across his two years at the Bridge, he’s shown flashes of brilliance, but has mixed them in with some seriously frustrating decisions.
The problem for Barkley is that competition in midfield is so high. Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Billy Gilmour, N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovačić are all battling for spots (plus Jorginho if he stays), and any new Havertz-shaped arrivals could push Barkley even further down the pecking order.
With other areas of the squad needing to take priority this summer, selling Barkley would go a long way to helping.
Potential Destination: West Ham
Potential Price: £20m
7. Danny Drinkwater
Ugh.
After costing Chelsea a whopping £35m in 2017, Drinkwater’s career has spiralled out of control. He failed to hold down a place at the Bridge (shock), before loans with Burnley and Aston Villa helped damage his credibility even more.
There’s going to be a hefty loss on this one, but it’s got to be done. Please.
Potential Destination: Fulham? Maybe?
Potential Price: £5m
8. Michy Batshuayi
Few players have frustrated Chelsea fans quite like Michy Batshuayi. He has occasionally looked like the natural goalscorer which the Blues have been crying out for for years, but has often left fans wanting far more.
He failed to justify Lampard’s faith in him early in the season and ended up getting benched by Olivier Giroud. Now Chelsea’s fourth-choice striker, it’s time for Batshuayi to go.
His value has taken a hit during his time at Stamford Bridge, but thanks to impressive loans with Borussia Dortmund and Crystal Palace, he still has some worth.
Potential Destination: Leeds United
Potential Price: £20m
9. Antonio Rüdiger
Chelsea are looking to add a new centre-back this summer, which would leave Lampard with five players fighting for two positions. That’s obviously not feasible, so one player is going to have to go.
Fikayo Tomori is still young, Andreas Christensen has enormous potential and Kurt Zouma has played his way back into plans, so that leaves Antonio Rüdiger – the most valuable of the four – as the odd one out.
The German failed to impress during the 2019/20 season and now should be moved on for a sizeable fee.
It’d be a little awkward as Rüdiger played a huge role in luring Werner to the Bridge and reports suggest he may have done the same with Havertz, but Chelsea should make the tough decision and let him go while his value is still high.
Potential Destination: Tottenham Hotspur
Potential Price: £35m
Who should stay and who should go?
Let us know in the comments.
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