Sign, sell, loan: the major transfer decisions that Chelsea still need to make this summer

With scarcely more than a week before the first game of the season, Chelsea’s summer clearout has slowed down substantially after a swift start. Several unwanted players have left but many more remain, there are still several young players awaiting clarity on their future and a couple of key signings have failed to materialise.

To say that Chelsea need to get everything right over August is something of an understatement. A complete squad overhaul is a big enough undertaking without the added complications of a new head coach and a truly desperate season fresh in the memory – not to mention the need to comply with FFP regulations without the extra income from European football. Chelsea’s backroom staff are walking an incredibly thin line.

So where do they stand, and what decisions do they still need to make? Who needs to be sold and what do they need to bring in? Which youngsters should they find a loan home for, and which should be kept around to get some minutes in at Stamford Bridge?

Sign

Four players have already arrived this summer, all of them additions to the attack – Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Ângelo and Diego Moreira. That’s great news given the complete absence of goals for much of last season, but there are indications that Chelsea still want another number nine.

Kai Havertz, who awkwardly filled that role last year, has departed for Arsenal, and while new boy Jackson has impressed up front during pre-season that would still leave a distinct lack of depth for the front line, especially as Nkunku looks earmarked for Mason Mount’s vacated number ten berth.

Dušan Vlahović has been mentioned as a possible signing, as has Elye Wahi from Montpellier. The former is a fine player who needs a chance to re-spark a slightly stalled career, while the latter is a fast and talented young forward who burst onto the Ligue 1 scene with 29 goals over the last two campaigns. However, the ‘Controversies’ section of Wahi’s Wikipedia page makes sufficiently unpleasant reading to give any potential employer pause for thought.

In the meantime, Chelsea can at least entertain the dream of signing Kylian Mbappé – surely implausible given the absence of Champions League football and the enormous amount of money that would be required. Mohammed Kudus, the versatile Ajax forward, is a more realistic option, albeit another player more suited to a supporting role rather than leading the line. He is expected to complete a €40m deal before too long. Michael Olise has also come into the frame in recent days.

In defence, Chelsea have more bodies but another brutal long-term injury for Wesley Fofana means that Chelsea are scrambling for cover. Axel Disasi of Monaco is on his way in a deal worth around £35m, and should solve that issue at least. Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sánchez has also been bid for, to give Kepa Arrizabalaga some competition following Edouard Mendy’s departure.

Perhaps the biggest issue is, of course, in midfield. There’s a desperate need to find a partner for Enzo Fernández – and while they’ve identified their main target, landing him is another matter. Chelsea have had at least four bids rejected by Brighton in the course of their pursuit of Moisés Caicedo, and the Seagulls seem likely to hold out for the full £100m they want. Chelsea can either pay up or look elsewhere.

Elsewhere, they had been trying to get their hands on Romeo Lavia of Southampton to add some extra depth along with some youthful impetus, but Liverpool seem favourites to win that race as it stands – which could leave the Blues heading into the opening fixtures against their Merseyside rivals with just Fernández and Conor Gallagher as senior midfielders. They need to move fast.

Should the moves for Caicedo and Lavia fail, one or two other names have been suggested, such as Rennes’ Lesley Ugochukwu – but Chelsea need to get their man now they’ve homed in on Caicedo, and if they need to sacrifice another signing such as Lavia or Kudus to fund the full price of the Ecuadorian, so be it. Providing Fernández with a partner in the double pivot is simply too important.

Sell

No fewer than 13 players have now left the club on a permanent deal, a remarkable trimming of last season’s bloated squad – but that doesn’t mean Chelsea are done just yet.

West Ham United have had a bit north of £40m rejected for Gallagher, but Chelsea are happy to negotiate upwards. There isn’t a lengthy queue of suitors and West Ham have others options in their sights such as James Ward-Prowse and Denis Zakaria, so there’s every chance the occasional England international stays – surely no bad thing given the depth concerns at the heart of the park.

Most of the remaining movement will be up front. Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech are both still on the books, and it’s fair to say that just about nobody involve wants them to be. Lukaku had seemed to be on the verge of a move to Juventus, but that broke down when fans protested the transfer – now he’s left in limbo, with former club Inter Milan shelving their interest as well. A possible deadline day bargain for anyone looking to try a little brinksmanship.

Ziyech, meanwhile, is probably still rather surprised that he isn’t in Paris, having had a January transfer stuffed at the last minute by paperwork problems. Paris Saint-Germain declined to come back in for the Moroccan this summer, while his highly lucrative move to Al-Nassr of the Saudi Pro League collapsed over “red flags” raised in the medical – bad news for both the player and a club who want him off the books. He seems increasingly likely to stay at Stamford Bridge, and with two years left on his contract he could be out in the cold for some time.

Callum Hudson-Odoi is also likely to leave at some stage, with Lazio the latest club reportedly taking a look at the former England winger. Hudson-Odoi has struggled to regain his spark after serious injury a couple of seasons ago, and could leave for a deal worth less than £10m. A sad end to a seriously talented player’s time at Stamford Bridge, but probably for the best. There had also been some discussion over a sale of Malang Sarr, who spent last season on loan at Monaco – he may move closer to the end of the transfer window if Mauricio Pochettino is content with his defensive depth.

Finally, there has been some fresh speculation that Chelsea could try to offload Marc Cucurella, who arrived only last summer for an initial £55m but struggled to make an impact in his first season. No word yet as to any possible destinations, but his departure would open up some extra funds for investment elsewhere in the squad – while also putting a lot of pressure on the often-injured Ben Chilwell to stay fit for once.

One defender who won’t be leaving is Levi Colwill, who has agreed in principle to a new deal at Chelsea – which should cause some serious sighs of relief in the Stamford Bridge stands. With Fofana spending so much time on the treatment table, Colwill is Chelsea’s best bet at producing a world-class central defender from within their own ranks. But speaking of homegrown talents, they could well part ways with yet another in the form of Trevoh Chalobah, who is believed to have a hefty £40m price tag.

Loan

Chelsea also have quite a few youngsters hanging around the fringes of the first-team squad, and it’s quite clear that not all of them are going to get the minutes they need to continue their development this season.

David-Datro Fofana has already left to spend the season at Union Berlin, while many reporters believe Armando Broja will also leave to get some minutes under his belt having failed to get much game time last season. The Albanian forward impressed at Southampton in the 2021/22 season and could spend some time elsewhere again – but if a new striker can’t be found, he could yet find himself as the second-choice centre forward.

The purchase of RC Strasbourg by Chelsea’s owners has also opened up a loan link which the club are expected to exploit at some stage, with Ângelo and Carney Chukwuemeka both linked with a Ligue 1 spell – but the former has allegedly impressed Pochettino since arriving and the latter is also the subject of loan interest from AC Milan, so it may end up being other players who find themselves farmed out to France’s borderlands.

Lewis Hall is another talented midfielder who needs some minutes, and is also expected to be given a temporary home as he continues his progress. Crystal Palace have been linked with a bid for the 18-year-old, who played nine Premier League games last campaign. Ian Maatsen, the versatile 21-year-old Dutchman who was named in the Championship Team of the Season while on loan at Burnley last year, could also spend another year away unless Cucurella moves on.

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The question with all of these players, who stand so close to regular first-team football, is just how much Chelsea might need those bodies down the line. The lack of European football means the strain on the squad size is a little less this year, but with a high chance that they enter the new campaign very light in midfield, it may be best to let either Hall or Chukwuemeka stay on and shore up the starting eleven. Chelsea have historically been very loan happy, and it will be interesting to see how many of the players on the edge of first-team honours are sent out to get some experience this season.