According to reports, five Chelsea players are expected to leave the Premier League giants during the upcoming January transfer window.
Under head coach Enzo Maresca, Chelsea are massively surpassing expectations this season as they are mounting an unexpected challenge for the Premier League title.
Maresca‘s side suffered a setback on Boxing Day as they suffered a 2-1 home loss to London rivals Fulham and they will look to return to winning ways at Ipswich Town on Monday night. Ahead of this match, the Blues are seven points adrift of table-toppers Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Maresca’s start at Chelsea is especially impressive considering he has an oversized squad that he has needed to keep satisfied. He has done so by giving the majority of his players their fair share of minutes in the Premier League or cup competitions.
Despite this, exits were always going to be inevitable in January and Maresca recently admitted that Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka could be the first out of the door next month.
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He said: “There are players that unfortunately didn’t play a lot with us in all the competitions like (Ben) Chilwell, like Carney (Chukwuemeka).”
“Probably they are the first [to say] that they want to leave because they train every day, because they want to play games and if they don’t play games probably they are thinking of leaving.
“Each player is a bit different situation, so we’re going to see if some of them are coming and knocking on the door to say ‘I want to leave’ or something like that. We will try to find a solution.”
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A report from BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella reveals Chilwell, Chukwuemeka and three more Chelsea players are set to leave the club in January.
‘Chelsea have a host of potential exits to come in January, including the likes of Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei.
‘The Blues are demanding Chukwuemeka’s full £40million release clause for his January exit – or could look to send him out on loan instead. Casadei, 21, is a different case with Chelsea not actively seeking to sell the Italian midfielder, with a loan move looking more likely. Feyenoord and Monza are both interested in signing the Italy Under-21s international.
‘Meanwhile, Harvey Vale is set to leave the club on a permanent deal with less than six months left on his current contract. The 21-year-old attacker has interest from clubs in Europe and the Championship.
‘Any deal will only likely command a nominal fee, with a sell-on clause likely to be included to cash in at a later date.
‘Alex Matos could also leave on a permanent deal, while Chelsea are currently not actively pushing to loan or sell further first team players, including teen stars Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu at the early stages of the January window.’
