A £45 million player in the Chelsea squad is considering an exit from Stamford Bridge, and there have been out-of-window transfer talks held already.
Chelsea prepare for Bournemouth clash after Crystal Palace draw
Amid the international break, manager Enzo Maresca and his coaching staff will be hard at work behind-the-scenes in tactical preparation for Chelsea's next game – as they get ready to host Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth.
"Very fast" Chelsea player will now push to leave with Chilwell this month
The Blues could still offload a host of players outside of the UK window.
ByEmilio GalantiniSep 5, 2024
Maresca was effusive in his praise for Chelsea's players in their last Premier League encounter, a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in west London, with Nicolas Jackson's opener later cancelled out by a stunning finish from Eberechi Eze against the run of play.
The Blues created a host of chances and often dominated the game against Palace, but their lack of clinical finishing eventually cost Maresca's side. Chelsea have won one, drew one and lost one, which was opening weekend defeat to English champions Man City.
“I feel it is a shame for the players because when we finished the game, you could see the players’ frustrations," said Maresca on Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Palace.
"In the way we played today, we are going to win games. We completely deserved to win the game. We created chances and controlled the game. We didn’t concede chances and in the first half, I think they just had one shot on goal with Adam Wharton and then they had the goal in the second half which was a fantastic goal.
Player
Match Rating
Cole Palmer
7.6
Nicolas Jackson
7.2
Moises Caicedo
7.2
Eberechi Eze
7.2
Dean Henderson
7.1
“[We] completely deserved to win the game but unfortunately we didn’t. But the performance was very good, on the ball and off the ball. After we conceded the goal, we lost our way in terms of controlling the game and the game started to be a bit up and down and in transition, which is not our football and especially against them as they are very good in transition."
The signs are promising on the field thus far, but off-the-field, there is still work on the squad being done by Todd Boehly and BlueCo. Indeed, Chelsea sold Angelo Gabriel to Al-Nassr this week and just before the Saudi transfer window shut, with a couple of other players tipped to follow the Brazilian.
Chelsea can no longer sign players with the UK window shutting last Friday, but there is still time to offload surplus stars as the Turkish, Greek and other transfer windows remain open.
AEK Athens are reportedly chasing a loan deal for striker David Datro Fofana as the Ivorian trains away from Maresca's first-team, while uncertainty still surrounds the future of left-back Ben Chilwell.
Chilwell considering Chelsea exit with out-of-window talks held
As per HITC and journalist Graeme Bailey, Chilwell is considering a Chelsea exit as Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas hold talks.
The Turkish Süper Lig trio can still sign players up until September 13, when their window closes, and all three sides have negotiated terms with Chelsea which the Blues actually find favorable.
It is believed they're attempting to take the £200,000-per-week defender on loan, but any proposed move to Turkey would ultimately come down to Chilwell, who could also choose to sit tight and wait for better options in January.
The Englishman, signed by Chelsea from Leicester City for around £45 million in 2020, has gone on to make over a century of appearances for the club and captained them on multiple occasions.
Maresca, though, has publicly declared Chilwell is not in his plans.
"I prefer to be honest with the player," said Maresca on Chilwell's future. "The ones who are not involved, they are all players who are not going to be involved and they don’t get any minutes in case they stay.
"With Chilly, I said he is a lovely guy, but he is going to struggle because of his position. He is going to struggle. If you define this as brutal, it's up to you to decide. For me, it's not brutal, it's just honest."
