Shopping victims: who may leave Chelsea in the summer
Chelsea have been very active in the transfer market since the arrival of the new owners. The Blues have signed so many players that all are rumoured to be short of locker room space. But it can’t go on like this. The Londoners will need to sell their players to avoid penalties for breaching financial fair play and to unload the payroll. It is likely that the Chelsea staffing purge will begin in a few months’ time. Below we will try to predict who will leave the Blues in the offseason.
Denis Zakaria
Chelsea have leased Zakaria from Juventus on the last day of the summer transfer window. There is still no indication that the Blues will buy the player out. The 26-year-old midfielder has only played 6 games in the Premier League so far. Without the Swiss, the English club have enough players to fill their midfield and centre-back positions. Zakaria’s departure at the end of the current season looks almost a done deal.
Conor Gallagher
Rumours of Gallagher’s departure have been circulating for some time. The player could have left his hometown club in the winter, but Chelsea decided not to let the player go. However, by now the 23-year-old midfielder is again among the players that the Blues are ready to part with. The London club are not very fond of their youngsters, so Gallagher’s departure will not be taken lightly. Then again, Chelsea have too many central midfielders and Conor is far from leading the field.
Malang Sarr
Sarr joined the Blues in the summer of 2020 from Nice on a free agent basis. Even then, the transfer looked questionable. Everything pointed to the fact that the Londoners would send the player on loan – and so it happened. First the Frenchman had a bad trip to Porto, then he tried to establish himself at Chelsea, but nothing came of that either. The 24-year-old centre-back is currently on loan at Monaco. There is virtually no chance of Sarr returning to the London club. There’s simply no room for him in the squad. Chelsea have five central defenders without him – that’s more than enough.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
Bakayoko is technically a Blues player. Since joining the London club in the summer of 2017, the 28-year-old midfielder has spent almost all his time on loan. The Frenchman has played for Napoli, Monaco and AC Milan, where he is currently based. It’s hard to imagine Bakayoko returning to Chelsea after his long wanderings. Besides, he only has 1 year left on his contract – the right time to sell. On the other hand, it is very difficult to find a buyer for a player who hardly plays. He has featured in only 3 Serie A matches this season.
Mason Mount
Mount was the Blues’ best young player during the Frank Lampard era. There was a time when the Londoners were ready to make their youngster one of the club’s highest paid players. Now the reality is that the 24-year-old midfielder could leave Chelsea. The sides are unable to agree an extension to his contract, which runs until June 2024. Apparently, the reluctance to extend the agreement comes from the club, which has already valued the player at €70m. Bayern and Liverpool are said to be the contenders for the Englishman.
Hakim Ziyech
Ziyech was very close to joining PSG in January. The transfer was almost agreed. The deal only fell through due to the laxity of the London club’s staff. After that, Hakim received some game time, but then the situation became difficult again. The 30-year-old winger has not made a single appearance in his last five EPL games. This indicates that the Moroccan’s desire to leave Chelsea has not gone anywhere. He is highly likely to make a club move in the summer. This time, the Blues will already have time to process the deal.
Christian Pulisic
Pulisic has not been doing well for a long time, and this season it’s not looking good at all. The 24-year-old American has averaged 36 minutes per game this campaign, his worst performance so far. In addition, he is increasingly rare in terms of scoring. One goal in 19 EPL games is quite low. Noni Madueke is likely to be Chelsea’s main right winger, so Pulisic’s prospects remain slim even with the likely departure of Ziyech. The best thing for the American is to restart his career elsewhere, and he should have done so earlier.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
There was a time when Bayern were keen to acquire Hudson-Odoi. The Blues’ pupil rejected all offers as he wanted to establish himself at his home club. However, his role as a rotation player has not changed with each season. Last summer, Callum still decided to change and moved to Bayer on loan, but he does not reach any great heights.
To date, the 22-year-old Englishman has played 14 games in the Bundesliga and scored just one assist. It is unlikely that the Gunners will buy the player but the chances of him returning to Chelsea are slim. The Blues have Raheem Sterling and Michal Mudryk as their left wingers, for whom big money was paid. Hudson-Odoi does not appear to have a place at his home club.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang is a clear candidate to leave the London club despite Chelsea missing a centre-forward. The 33-year-old striker has played a combined total of just 16 minutes in his last 10 EPL games. He is ineligible to play in the Champions League after being ruled out of the competition. It is unlikely the Gabonese will be keen to stay with the Blues even after the coaching change. Aubameyang remains a quality forward but a team in the rebuilding phase is not a good option at his age. The Gabon man would be better off finding a more relaxed environment.
