Chelsea set to EXILE €90m duo after failed summer transfers
Cameron Smith
- 12 Sept 2023 16:14 BST
- 4 min read
Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella face being exiled at Chelsea after being deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
The pair were both close to summer transfers away from the club, but neither were able to seal a move and are now set to be frozen out in west London.
Chalobah’s proposed move to Bayern Munich fell through due to the Bavarian’s focus on signing Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, while the Englishman also rejected a Deadline Day move to Nottingham Forest.
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Steve Cooper’s side offered €29 million (£25m) for Chalobah, as per the Evening Standard’s Nizaar Kinsella, but they were reportedly unable to convince the player to join.
The Evening Standard’s report states that Chalobah would like to join a club with a similar standing in the game as Chelsea as he seeks a move away from the club he joined aged eight.
As for Cucurella, he was linked with a sensational loan move to Manchester United, but the Red Devils wanted to include a break-clause which could be activated in January if they wished for the defender to return to Chelsea.
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However, the Blues were not willing for such a clause to be included in the deal. As a result, Erik ten Hag’s side prioritised Sergio Reguilon, with Tottenham Hotspur happy to meet Man Utd’s loan demands.
What next?
The pair now remain at Chelsea, but face an uncertain future at the club, with a January exit on the cards for both.
The €45m summer signing of Axel Disasi from AS Monaco has seen Chalobah fall down the pecking order, despite his usefulness as a squad player at Stamford Bridge, while Mauricio Pochettino is currently utilising a centre-back (Levi Colwill) rather than Cucurella at left-back.
Ian Maatsen is also an option in Cucurella’s position, after he turned down the chance to re-join Burnley on a permanent deal, while Ben Chilwell remains the Blues’ best left-back, despite starting the season in an unconventional left-wing role.
Chalobah and Cucurella are both contracted to Chelsea until 2028, with the former signing an extension last November and the latter penning a six-year deal upon joining the club from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022.
As a result, the Blues may find the pair hard to shift if they want to maximise their earnings from any potential sale. Chalobah currently has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €37.6m, while Cucurella’s ETV is €50.1m.
