As many as eleven players could reportedly leave Chelsea this summer in a major transfer clear-out, with the Blues looking to raise funds to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
The Nigeria international is likely to cost as much as €120million this summer, and clearly that looks difficult for Chelsea to afford as things stand, so one imagines a long list of sales will be needed.
According to Football Transfers, Chelsea could end up offloading as much as €200m’s worth of talent in the next transfer window, which would then go a long way to help fund new arrivals like Osimhen at €120m, as well as room for a bit more on top of that.
The report names Marc Cucurella, Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr, Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall, and Thiago Silva as being among the names expected to leave Stamford Bridge.
Silva won’t bring in a transfer fee, of course, as he’s heading towards being a free agent, but there’s still a lot there for Chelsea to work with as they target Osimhen.
Osimhen transfer is worth the considerable clear-out for Chelsea
Chelsea fans might be a bit anxious about so many first-team players leaving all at once, but it’s also surely worth it if it can help the west London giants fund an important deal for a world class striker like Osimhen.
The Napoli front-man has been superb in Serie A in recent times, and one imagines he’d be a considerable upgrade on the likes of Nicolas Jackson and Broja, giving Mauricio Pochettino’s much more of a goal threat than they’ve had this season.
And, of those names mentioned above, it’s debatable how much any of them would really be missed, aside from Gallagher, who has been a key performer this season but who is nearing the final year of his contract, potentially allowing the club to make a big profit from his sale.