- 22 hours ago
Chelsea force fan favourite out of the club
Chelsea have omitted Trevoh Chalobah from the squad for their US pre-season tour in what has been described as a brazen attempt to 'force him out of the club.'
The versatile defender is coming off a strange season. Chalobah missed most of the campaign through injury, but once he returned to full fitness, he quickly became an important part of the side of then-coach Mauricio Pochettino.
A homegrown and academy product, Chalobah is a popular figure at Chelsea and arguably one of the most reliable defensive-minded players in a team that have not covered themselves in glory when it comes to keeping it tight at the back.
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Despite this, Chelsea are intent on offloading Chalobah this summer in a bid to raise 'pure profit.' Already last summer, the Blues were trying to get rid of the 25-year-old, but no transfer ultimately materialised despite talks with Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich.
This summer, Chelsea are trying everything to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
Chelsea 'force Chalobah out'
Chelsea have upset many in their fanbase this window with their attempts to sell homegrown talent, with Conor Gallagher perhaps the most high-profile example of this. He is still being targeted by Atletico Madrid and Tottenham after previous links to Aston Villa.
However, Chalobah is arguably even more likely to leave and Chelsea are making sure that the academy graduate no longer feels welcome at the club. Leaked by The Chelsea Spot and since officially confirmed, coach Enzo Maresca and company have decided to leave the defender in London during their pre-season tour of the United States.
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The above-mentioned X account described this as Chelsea trying to 'force the defender out the club' and it is difficult to put it any other way. Chalobah is still under contract until 2028, meaning that the Blues are not at risk of losing him for free, so this really is quite brazen.
A potential problem is that clubs have thus far been reluctant to move for the defensive allrounder. Chelsea won't offer a significant discount on the player and he is reportedly keen to play in Europe next season, which makes this a potentially tricky and awkward situation.