Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Ten for sale in brutal Chelsea culling as Boehly targets deadly Serie A star in swap deal for struggling Lampard signing

Edouard Mendy and Ben Chilwell of Chelsea after the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is ready to launch a firesale at Stamford Bridge to reduce the numbers in Graham Potter’s squad, with a report revealing the names of 10 players who will leave this summer.

The American has acted like a tornado sweeping through the club ever since his takeover was finalised last summer. Indeed, in the two transfer windows under his control, the Blues have signed an incredible £500m-plus worth of new players. But that 17 player influx has left Potter with an inflated squad, which has caused the coach an additional unwanted headache.

Chelsea were always used to spending big under the Roman Abramovich era. But the Boehly era is on a whole level altogether. And it came as no surprise when Chelsea released their annual financial statement showing a £121.3m loss.

As a result, Ben Jacobs has told TEAMtalk that sales will become just as important to Chelsea this summer as new arrivals.

And while the Blues plan to grant Potter further funds to strengthen his squad, there will likely be more departures than arrivals.

Now it seems the first of those unwanted stars is closing in on a potential escape route.

And per reports, Boehly hopes to kill two birds with one stone by bringing in one of their summer targets as part of a swap deal.

The man being used as bait is Edouard Mendy, who was signed by Frank Lampard in a £22m deal from Rennes.

His signing initially looked like money extremely well spend as the Senegal star soon established himself as No 1.

And he was a big factor in helping Chelsea win the 2021 Champions League final, beating Man City 1-0 in Porto.

READ MORE: Costly Boehly investment named as Chelsea’s best signing of the season

Mendy offered in swap deal for Dusan Vlahovic

However, Mendy has lost his place this season to Kepa, and has just 11 appearances under his belt this season. As such, he is one of the players seemingly cleared to move on by Boehly.

Now reports in Italy claim the Blues are trying to use the 31-year-old in a swap deal for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.

The Serbian has an excellent record in Italy with 69 goals in 157 games across spells at Fiorentina and Juve.

Factoring in the additional 10 assists to his name too, that gives him a record of a goal involvement every 1.98 games.

Such a record has seen Vlahovic draw admiring glances from elsewhere, not least Arsenal and Manchester United.

Indeed, the Gunners tried and failed to sign Vlahovic in January 2022, prior to his move to Juventus. And the 23-year-old is on United’s radar ahead of the summer window.

However, it is now Chelsea who are reportedly leading the charge. They hope Juventus’ wish to sign a new No 1 could swing the chase in their favour. That’s despite previous claims the Bianconeri are unwilling to consider a swap deal.

Indeed, the Italian giants are keen to bring in a new custodian with Wojciech Szczesny sharing the gloves with Mattia Perin this season.

Mendy one of 10 who can leave Chelsea in brutal culling

Whether Juventus bite or not, remains to be seen. However, it does seem like Mendy’s time is up with the Senegalese one of 10 tipped to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

And according to Calciomercato, several of their unwanted stars could find escape routes in Serie A.

For starters, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all on AC Milan’s radar.

Blues teammate Trevoh Chalobah is wanted by cross-city rivals Inter Milan as a potential replacement for Milan Skriniar.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will also have his contract torn up, leaving him free to leave. Both Milan sides are reportedly considering moves.

Christian Pulisic, meanwhile, is another star reportedly up for sale. The American has interest from several sides, including Milan, Roma and Juventus.

Romelu Lukaku is the eighth player on the list likely to depart. He has spent the 2022/23 season on loan with Inter Milan. Their CEO Beppe Marota recently intimated he will send the Belgian back to Stamford Bridge once his loan ends.

However, new reports claim the two clubs are open to discussing a fresh arrangement that could keep Lukaku in Italy.

Mateo Kovacic is another big name likely to leave. His deal expires in summer 2024 and the Blues are looking for around £35m – £40m. Manchester United and Liverpool are among those seemingly keen.

And finally, the Blues will also bid an emotional farewell to Mason Mount. He too is reportedly on Liverpool’s radar, though the latest reports claim Bayern Munich are also considering a swoop.

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