Chelsea want to SELL their most important player

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 17 May 2024 20:09 BST
• 5 min read

Chelsea have made a number of questionable transfer decisions since 2022 and selling Trevoh Chalobah would immediately top the list.

Mauricio Pochettino has helped inspire a late-season revival at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are on course to secure European football - something that looked almost out of the question a few months ago.

While Cole Palmer has undoubtedly been Chelsea’s star man this term, there’s certainly reason to suggest the Manchester City academy graduate hasn’t been the sole catalyst for the Blues’ recent upturn in form.

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Moises Caicedo has been sublime in midfield, Marc Cucurella has impressed at left-back, and Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke have both delivered on their promise.

However, the biggest reason behind Chelsea’s sublime form is arguably Chalobah.

The Englishman was on the verge of joining Nottingham Forest last summer, but he reportedly rejected a move to the City Ground in order to stay in west London. However, talk of an exit remains rife and he is still seen as a sellable asset, as per reports.

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Due to injury, Chalobah’s first appearance of the season didn’t come until February, however his impact has been meaningful since then.

Capable of playing at centre-back or at right-back, the Cobham academy graduate has emerged as one of Chelsea’s key players, yet he remains one of the club’s likely summer departures.

Chalobah has done enough to prove he is good enough to stay at Stamford Bridge, but it remains to be seen if Chelsea’s ‘pure profit’ driven owners decide to keep him.

Why Chelsea mustn’t sell Trevoh Chalobah

This season, Chelsea have only lost one of the 12 games in which Chalobah has started - the 1-0 defeat to Man City in the FA Cup semi-final.

Considering Pochettino’s side arguably should’ve had a penalty for Jack Grealish’s handball, it’s fair to say the Blues were unfortunate to walk away from Wembley with a loss.

In addition, Chelsea have lost just one Premier League game since Chalobah returned from injury in February - the humiliating 5-0 loss to Arsenal. The Englishman was benched for that match and only played the final 23 minutes. Coincidence? Probably not.

Current ETV

Trevoh Chalobah

D (CR)

Chelsea

Trevoh Chalobah

D (CR)

Chelsea

€20.7M

ETV Range

€15.5M - €25.9M

View full profile

As per CarefreeYouth, Chelsea have only lost 14 of the 58 games Chalobah has started during his senior career at Stamford Bridge.

When excluding the shambolic 2022-23 season, the Blues have lost just three times in Chalobah’s 34 starts, and two of those defeats were penalty shootout losses to Liverpool in 2021-22.

His importance is immense and the stats prove he is arguably Chelsea’s most important player; the difference in the Blues’ results when he plays versus when he doesn’t is stark.

Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana have all shown immense promise during their time in Chelsea’s first-team, but Badiashile has been uncharacteristically error-prone for much of this season, Colwill has often played out of position since returning from Brighton & Hove Albion and Fofana has racked up just 20 Blues appearances due to injury problems.

Combined with the fact that Thiago Silva is leaving to re-join Fluminense and Axel Disasi has been largely underwhelming following his move from AS Monaco, it’s fair to say Chalobah is currently Chelsea’s best and most consistent centre-back.

Selling him simply shouldn’t be an option.