Game over for Chelsea star as Saudis register interest in shock deal for 20-year-old outcast

Enzo Maresca has no plans to use Carney Chukwuemeka at Chelsea and the midfielder is weighing up his options ahead of a January move away from Stamford Bridge, as per a report.

It’s claimed Maresca has ‘greenlit’ Chukwuemeka’s move away from Chelsea as he would rather use other central midfielders such as Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. There is ‘no way back’ for the 20-year-old, who needs to find a new club so he can continue his development.

Chukwuemeka has three very different options ahead of the transfer window reopening in January. Surprisingly, CaughtOffside report that clubs in Saudi Arabia are eyeing up Chukwuemeka as a possible transfer target.

The Saudis typically like to sign the biggest names, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema. But they are keen to eventually change their transfer model by landing rising stars – Spanish starlet Gabri Veiga has already gone to Al-Ahli and Chukwuemeka could follow him to the Middle East.

But Saudi Pro League clubs will face competition for the England U21 international. The report adds that AC Milan remain eager to snap Chukwuemeka up, having been heavily linked with a swoop for him over the summer.

Due to financial constraints, Milan would ideally like to sign Chukwuemeka on loan while including an option to buy at a later date.

Closer to home, Crystal Palace are keeping tabs on the youngster’s situation. Palace have had success in buying players from Chelsea in the past, with Marc Guehi a great example, while they also loaned Trevoh Chalobah from the Blues in the summer.

Chukwuemeka is the latest Chelsea player to emerge on Palace’s radar, with a January battle for his services brewing.

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Chukwuemeka among a host of possible Chelsea exits

Chukwuemeka only joined Chelsea in August 2022, but he has not done enough to impress the Blues’ new head coach and has yet to feature in the Premier League this term.

Chukwuemeka was very highly rated during his time at Aston Villa, though things have not gone to plan for him in West London and he needs a fresh start.

The Austria-born ace is far from the only player Maresca is looking to push out of Chelsea. Over the weekend it emerged that Ben Chilwell is ‘expected’ to leave alongside Chukwuemeka during the next transfer window.

Defenders Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile are at risk of being sold, too.

Chelsea news: Gyokeres battle, Palmer verdict

Meanwhile, Chelsea will face competition to make Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres their new striker as Manchester City are interested in him too.

The Spanish press claim that City will move for Gyokeres if Erling Haaland heads to Real Madrid either next summer or the summer after.

Chelsea have identified the Sweden ace as an alternative to Victor Osimhen but will have to fend off City and a number of other Premier League sides for him.

Elsewhere, Graeme Souness has warned Chelsea that Cole Palmer may one day secure a blockbuster transfer to Madrid.

“I’m sure there are other players Man City could have cashed in on,” Souness said.

“Chelsea paid £40m for Palmer but if Real Madrid come knocking next summer and he is still at the level he is showing, I would not be surprised if they got an offer of £150m for him.

“He’s a young man, so we’re going early on this call, but if this is Palmer’s level and he can be consistently this good, he’s going to be a top man.

“He has got silky skills, athleticism and a fabulous football brain. There’s simply nothing to dislike about him. He’s 22. At that age, no one ought to be that good.”

How are Maresca’s unwanted players performing?

By Samuel Bannister

Chelsea managed to offload most of the players they didn’t want to keep this summer, but were still left with a few whose exits they had explored. How have those players been doing since?

Ben Chilwell

Maresca made no secret of the fact that it was deemed to be in Chilwell’s best interests to leave Chelsea over the summer. However, the left-back wouldn’t budge and was reinstated to the first team in mid-September, making his comeback in a Carabao Cup win over Barrow. It remains his only appearance for the first team this season, though.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Like Chilwell, Maresca publicly admitted he would have preferred for Chukwuemeka to leave in the summer, in his case due to competition in his position. And in another parallel with Chilwell, his only first-team appearance so far was against Barrow.

Deivid Washington

On deadline day, Washington seemed set to join fellow BlueCo side Strasbourg, either on loan or permanently, but neither move went through. His only first-team call-up since for Chelsea was for the Barrow game, but he remained on the bench. He recently represented Chelsea’s U21s in a league game against West Ham.

Noni Madueke

Chelsea considered letting Madueke go in the summer, 18 months after buying him, but he stayed put. He has enjoyed the biggest revival of any of their other could-be-castaways, scoring five goals from eight appearances so far this season, including a hat-trick against Wolves.

Cesare Casadei

Despite playing under Maresca last season while on loan at Leicester, Casadei faced an uncertain future this summer. After staying, he has made two full-90-minute appearances, against Barrow and then against Gent in the Conference League.