Chelsea at risk of crisis as wages stop THREE summer transfers

23 Aug 2024 16:30 BST
3 min read

Chelsea are expected to continue their flurry of transfer activity during the final week of the summer window, but wages could prove to be a huge stumbling block.

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The Blues have already spent €241 million on new signings so far this summer, with 10 players arriving at Stamford Bridge since the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

However, the club remain extremely active in the market and are looking to add another centre-forward and potentially another centre-back before Deadline Day ends on 30 August.

Furthermore, Chelsea are hoping to offload as many as 15 players before the summer window ends, with their first-team squad currently split in two.

One group consists of Enzo Maresca’s playing squad and the rest - who have been dubbed ‘The Bomb Squad’ - are made up of players who have been deemed surplus to requirements.

Romelu Lukaku, Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell are included in the latter group, and could all leave Stamford Bridge within the next week.

Raheem Sterling has also been added in recent days, following Maresca’s brutal honesty about the Englishman, while Carney Chukwuemeka could also depart, despite training with Maresca’s preferred team.

However, wages could complicate Chelsea’s business.

© IMAGO - Raheem Sterling could leave Chelsea before the summer transfer window ends

Chelsea’s wage issues

Sterling and Chukwuemeka have both been linked with a move to Crystal Palace, with Oliver Glasner’s side eyeing potential deals following Michael Olise’s departure to Bayern Munich.

However, The Sun have revealed that Chukwuemeka’s wages are an issue for the Eagles, while The Evening Standard have reported a similar issue regarding Sterling.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s long drawn-out pursuit of Victor Osimhen is also in doubt due to the Nigerian’s salary request. As per Fabrizio Romano, the Napoli star is demanding a net annual wage of €11m - which far exceeds how much the Blues are willing to offer.

As a result, wage issues mean Chelsea may struggle to finalise the arrival of Osimhen and the exits of both Sterling and Chukwuemeka before Deadline Day arrives.