The FIVE players who could leave Chelsea in January as transfer plans revealed

Cameron Smith

27 Nov 2023 17:30 GMT
3 min read

Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea — © ProShots

Chelsea will make a concerted effort to avoid signing too many players during the January transfer window in a bid to ensure Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t suffer the same problems as Graham Potter.

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Potter was at the helm when the Blues signed six first-team players during the January transfer window, which bloated the first-team squad to an unhealthy level, although injury problems meant he was never blessed with a fully fit roster.

The Telegraph’s Matt Law has reported that Chelsea are looking to add two or three players in January, but they want to offset those potential arrivals by ensuring the same number of players leave the club too.

As a result, they hope this will ensure Pochettino doesn’t become overwhelmed with an unhealthily-large squad.

Who could leave Chelsea in January?

The Telegraph have reported that five players could depart Chelsea this winter, with Conor Gallagher bolstering that number to six, although Pochettino wants to retain the England international and an exit is therefore unlikely.

Trevoh Chalobah is the most likely to leave Stamford Bridge and the defender is likely to have already played his last game for the Blues as Bayern Munich continue to eye a mid-season move.

Furthermore, Ian Maatsen is reportedly another player for sale after he rejected a Transfer Deadline Day move to Burnley during the summer. His contract is due to expire in 2025 and Chelsea hope to sell the Dutchman in order to help fund a move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.

Malang Sarr is also for sale, and is completely out of the first-team picture, while The Telegraph say that Armando Broja and Noni Madueke “could consider their immediate futures” as they continue to play second-fiddle.

Madueke has found himself behind Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer in the pecking order on the right-wing, while Nicolas Jackson appears to be Pochettino’s first-choice striker. Broja’s injury problems haven’t helped his cause, however, and the Albanian could push to become the preferred option with a consistent run of fitness.