Chelsea have a very busy summer transfer window ahead and Todd Boehly must be prepared for Mauricio Pochettino to inevitably demand a wholesale clear-out
Mauricio Pochettino will look to make major changes to the Chelsea squad in the transfer market if he is appointed Chelsea boss (Image: Photo by Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino is known for being very particular with his methods, on and off the pitch, so he could very well come in and rewrite Chelsea’s transfer strategy. The Blues have been heavily linked with numerous big names ahead of the summer window, with a striker, holding midfielder and a goalkeeper expected to top Todd Boehly’s shortlist.
In fact, the west Londoners seem to have already gift-wrapped the first signing of the Pochettino era – if of course he pens a deal at Stamford Bridge. As reported by football.london reported in October, Chelsea appear to have won the race to sign Christopher Nkunku.
It’s understood that the RB Leipzig star has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues and will move to west London in time for the 2023/24 season. However, the deal is not completely wrapped up yet and there are some final details that need to be arranged before the transfer is official.
football.london understand that Nkunku has been on Chelsea’s radar for some time now and they even were considering an approach in the summer. It’s unlikely that the 25-year-old will be the only new face at Cobham with Boehly eager to further bolster the squad.
So, with that being said, football.london have taken a look at the ins and outs as the Blues prepare for Pochettino’s arrival.
Incomings
With Nkunku hopefully strengthening Chelsea in the attacking-midfield department for around £52million, the former Tottenham boss is expected to sign a striker, a holding midfielder and a goalkeeper. The Blues are still yet to replace Didier Drogba, with only Diego Costa and Olivier Giroud coming close to the Ivorian’s profile.
Chelsea have experimented with the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but none have enjoyed much success. While plenty of supporters will be desperate to see Boehly throw the kitchen sink at Napoli to sign Victor Osimhen, Ivan Toney is hard to overlook.
The Brentford striker has been previously compared to Drogba, and he could cost just £40million, with his contract expiring in 2025. Moving down the pitch, another priority is an anchoring midfielder; Declan Rice is the obvious option but, with the West Ham captain eyeing Champions League football, the west Londoners could target Moises Caicedo.
football.london understands that Arsenal submitted two bids for the Ecuador international in January but both were rejected. It was said that Chelsea were also eyeing a move in the event that they were unable to sign Enzo Fernandez.
But, the Blues did in fact sign the Argentinean and interest seemingly fizzled out. Nevertheless, Caicedo would allow Pochettino to accelerate the integration of his philosophy, but his £75m price tag could be an issue.
In the goalkeeper department, there aren’t too many options. David Raya at Brentford and Robert Sanchez at Brighton are both worthy targets. Earlier this month, the Bees set a £35m price tag for their shot-stopper, while the Seagulls are expected to demand around £50m.
Outgoings
Some would say that the number of sales Chelsea sanction this summer is far more important than the number of arrivals – and there’s A LOT of names to go through. So, to put it simply, here are the 21 first-team players that the Blues could offload in the summer using the CIES Football Observatory transfer ratings.
Edouard Mendy – £17.7m
Kalidou Koulibaly – £26.5m
Marc Cucurella – £26.5m
Cesar Azpilicueta – £7m
Mateo Kovacic – £22.1m
Conor Gallagher – £31m
Mason Mount – £61.9m
Christian Pulisic – £31m
Hakim Ziyech – £17.7m
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £4.4m
Tiemoue Bakayoko – £1m
Romelu Lukaku – £17.7m
Malang Sarr – £7m
Callum Hudson-Odoi – £6.2m
Ethan Ampadu – £6.2m
Baba Rahman – FREE
Omari Hutchinson – LOAN
Tino Anjorin – LOAN
Dujon Sterling – LOAN
David Datro Fofana – LOAN
Carney Chukwuemeka – LOAN
Source: football.london
