Sterling, Kante, Havertz – The incredible TEAM that will leave Chelsea in the summer

Robin Bairner

• 11 Feb 2023 11:47 GMT
• 5 min read

Chelsea have hit the football transfer news headlines over the last eight months because of their lavish spending.

Backed by new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the Blues have revolutionised the transfer market with their big-money purchases for young players who have been signed on long-term contracts.

But while they have been very effective at signing players, they have been slower to move stars on.

MORE: From Sterling to Koulibaly: Grading Chelsea's summer transfer business

The next phase of their transition, then, will see numerous players shipped out – some of whom are relatively news at the club.

FootballTransfers sat down with transfer insider Ben Jacobs to discuss the next stages of their renovation.

MORE: Premier League injuries: Lloris out for six weeks

Who will Chelsea sell in the summer?

“Chelsea have a big squad and a lot of new faces, which is exciting but also very challenging,” he said.

“That's why come summer outgoings are going to be very important, not just to the ownership group and Graham Potter, but also individuals that stay will, I think, be quite glad of a few outgoing. It will mean there's a clear crystallisation of the pecking order and players will start to understand better their pathways to the starting XI.

“Look at Reese James and the incoming Malo Gusto, there's four years between them and that allows the younger player to feel like in four or five years time he'll be firmly competing and the older player to feel like he's ahead in the pecking order.

“We have to add that if you're talking about say centre-backs or versatile players like full-backs that can play on both sides or in midfield, it's a bit different. But when you're talking about a winger or forward, if there's too many then you need a bit of a clearer idea otherwise players start to worry that either the manager is going to be tinkering every week or if they're not in the starting 11 they may not get a look in.

“This is where I think Chelsea are going to have to now look at outgoings and obviously the positions where they've strengthened are the positions where they'll need outgoings because the squad's become too big.

“We can safely assume at the moment anyway that Romelu Lukaku won't return and on top of that, that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang will leave in the summer if not before. I think that there is a question mark over Kai Havertz, although the buying links are not particularly substantiated at this point, but let's see if that changes during the summer or another club comes in.

“Christian Pulisic I think will go and could have gone by now if he was fit. He’ll stay at the club until the end of the season and I think there'll be Serie A interest from Milan and possibly Juventus. Newcastle and even Manchester United might be ones to watch because they were the teams enquiring last summer.

“Hakim Ziyech is another one that we know from how close he got to joining PSG.

“Chelsea will entertain an exit for Conor Gallagher even though they maintain that he's important and of a good age. I think if an offer comes in for £40-45 million, the ownership group will seriously consider that because under Financial Fair Play, when you sign a player you can amortise, which means that you can divide the fee by the contract length to make the outgoings on your books smaller. But when you sell a player minus what's left on any amortisation, it's instant profit. So Gallagher for £45 million is huge profit that helps balance the books.

“And then I think we have to look at Koulibaly as well as a player that might be open for sale sooner rather than later, especially with Benoit Badiashile playing really well alongside Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana coming back from injury as well. Let's not forget Levi Colwill, who is a huge part of Chelsea's plans and is seen as a future elite-level defender, even though at the moment he's on loan at Brighton.

“Chelsea have to work out what they're going to do with their midfielders. Jorginho is gone. They still want N’Golo Kante to extend. It's very positive but it's not guaranteed at this point.

“And on top of that Azpilicueta is a player to look at. Of course he ended up staying despite some interest, but as Chelsea strengthened in that area, with Gusto coming into where is he in the pecking order by next summer the ownership group might have different ideas.

“And even Raheem Sterling, it's not guaranteed that he'll stay. For Sterling, I think it's all about playing in his favourite position and finding some goals.”