Chelsea are apparently ready to sell a £370,000-per-week trio in the January transfer window alongside winger Mykhailo Mudryk, with head coach Enzo Maresca looking to trim his squad even more after a busy summer.
Maresca leads seismic summer clearout at Chelsea
The Maresca era began with a host of players leaving Stamford Bridge, either on loan or permanently.
Fabrizio Romano: Chelsea chiefs blown away by £50k-per-week ace in training
They’ve pulled a U-turn over selling him.
1 ByEmilio Galantini
Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall, Romelu Lukaku, Omari Hutchinson, Angelo Gabriel, Diego Moreira, Hakim Ziyech, Malang Sarr, Tino Anjorin, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Lesley Ugochukwu, Armando Broja, Djordje Petrovic, Trevoh Chalobah, Kepa Arrizabalaga, David Datro Fofana, Aflie Gilchrist and Basir Humphreys all sealing moves away from west London.
Maresca has been forthright in expressing that players not in his immediate plans will be told to find a new home, as was the case with both Sterling and left-back Ben Chilwell, despite being high-profile names.
“Brutal? I don’t think so. I try to be honest,” said Maresca on Chilwell and Sterling.
Goals
19
Assists
12
Yellow cards
13
Red cards
0
Minutes played
5,335
“I can repeat again if it’s not clear: I spoke with Raheem before the City game. I said he is going to struggle to get minutes with us and this is the reason why he is out of the squad.
“With Chilly, I said he is a lovely guy, but he is going to struggle because of his position. He is going to struggle. If you define this as brutal, it’s up to you to decide. For me, it’s not brutal, it’s just honest.”
Chilwell has since been reintegrated into the Chelsea squad, while Sterling rejected a lucrative contract offer from Saudi Arabia in favour of joining Arsenal on a season-long loan.
As January slowly approaches, there have already been reports naming who else Maresca could axe from his first team and sell to the highest bidder. Mudryk is battling for his Chelsea future, with some media sources claiming that the Blues are open to offloading the Ukraine international.
Chelsea ready to sell Badiashile, Disasi and Chilwell alongside Mudryk
According to TEAMtalk, sharing a further update on this, it appears Mudryk could be joined by three other first-teamers in Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Chilwell in potentially leaving Stamford Bridge next year.
Indeed, it is believed that Chelsea are ready to sell Badiashile, Disasi and Chilwell in January – with the £370,00-per-week trio (combined) not in Maresca’s plans and could be shown the door depending on whether suitable offers arrive.
Disasi was used as a makeshift right-back against Bournemouth, in place of the injured Reece James and Malo Gusto, but was hauled off just past the hour mark after struggling on that side.
Badiashile made 18 league appearances under Mauricio Pochettino last season, though Maresca is yet to give him a single top-flight minute this term. Chilwell will also struggle for game time, despite being named in Maresca’s 25-man Premier League squad.
As Todd Boehly and BlueCo devise ways to both strengthen and trim Maresca’s team, it appears the aforementioned quartet or firm contenders for the exit door.