PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea preparing wholesale clearout
Following Champions League elimination, Chelsea are now planning for the 2023/24 season with more than 10 players destined for an exit.
The 2022-23 Champions League campaign came to an end for Chelsea on Tuesday night at the Premier League side made their quarter-final exit after a 4-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid. The competition offered fans a lifeline in what has been a wretched season for the Stamford Bridge club in new owner Todd Boehly’s first season in charge. After shelling out a fortune on new players over both summer and winter transfer windows, the club have had four different coaches in charge this season as they languish mid-table in the Premier League.
Planning is now well underway for the 2023-24 campaign and with the imminent arrival of Nkunku along with the return of loan players such as Lukaku, Ampadu or Hudson-Odoi, the Chelsea squad will feature more than 30 players and with no European football on the cards for The Blues next season, the club will need to trim the burgeoning squad numbers.
João Félix will not play his football at Stamford Bridge next season with the Portuguese is on loan from Atleti and the Premier League side not willing to pay a transfer fee after a lackluster series of performances in the blue shirt. Both goalkeepers, Kepa and Mendy seem to be destined for exits as are Spanish pair Cesar Azpilicueta and Cucurella, assuming good offers are forthcoming for their services.
Koulibaly is another who may be destined for a departure despite spending just one season in London SW6. Zakaria, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Havertz, Pulisic, Ziyech and Aubameyang are the other players Chelsea would like to release during the summer months in a bid to reduce the high wage bill that an extensive and deep squad carries.