The latest tone deaf Chelsea transfer decision that could enrage fans

First he was in, and then he was out, then in again for a bit, and now, by the looks of things, might be out for good. Trevoh Chalobah’s trajectory with boyhood club Chelsea has resembled a school disco Hokey Cokey more than a steady path towards regular first team recognition in recent seasons, but after one last shake all about, it would appear that his time at Stamford Bridge may finally be coming to an end.

The centre-back, despite completing a full preseason with the Blues thus far, has been omitted from an upcoming tour of the USA by manager Enzo Maresca, and the understanding is that he will now leave the club that he has represented for 17 whole years.

Of course, we have been here before. Kind of. At various points last season, it seemed as if the 25-year-old was destined for an exit after having fallen out of favour and down the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino. But then came something of a renaissance - a run of 10 starts in 13 games to round out the campaign, during which Chelsea won seven and drew three. Logic dictated that he had turned a corner, that he would be given at least a chance to prove his worth under new leadership.

But Chelsea rarely operate on logic anymore, and Chalobah’s snub comes as something of a shock, not just to the player, but to many supporters too. A cursory glance at social media suggests that large swathes of the Stamford Bridge faithful feel Maresca’s treatment of the defender is unjust; ‘No way to treat one of your own’, one wrote; ‘It should never have come to this’, offered another.

And to that end, it is certainly easy to envisage a near future in which Chelsea come to regret Chalobah’s anticipated exit. With Thiago Silva gone and Wesley Fofana embroiled in a Sisyphean struggle for fitness, the Blues were always likely to require some kind of defensive reinforcement this summer. The arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer has gone some way towards remedying that issue, but even then, that leaves Maresca with the former Fulham man, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, and Levi Colwill as his only realistic options at centre-back.

None of these are bad players, but all have shown fluctuations in form during their time in West London, and it begs the obvious question as to whether Chalobah has been that much worse than the aforementioned quartet to warrant such a frank and sudden rebuttal of his suitability. The backlash from the fanbase would suggest not.

But perhaps this is about more than just footballing ability. Alongside recurrent reports of Conor Gallagher’s prospective departure, Chelsea are in real danger of stripping yet another notable chunk of homegrown talent out of their dressing room. It should go without saying that teams don’t necessarily live or die by the number of academy graduates they have on their books, but for a roster like Maresca’s, so chaotically-assembled and frequently directionless, it could prove to be a needless, self-inflicted blow.

As for Chalobah himself, he will have no shortage of suitors queuing round the block for his signature. You suspect, however, that another side’s gain could very well end up being Chelsea’s loss.