‘Ruthless’ Chelsea accelerate seven-player ‘fire sale’ with England, France stars up for grabs

Chelsea are ramping up plans to streamline their squad this summer, with up to seven players – including Ben Chilwell and Axel Disasi – set to follow the likes of Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Djordje Petrovic out of the club.

Chelsea have spent over £1.5billion since a Todd Boehly-led consortium bought the club in May 2022. They have signed plenty of new stars since then, and that trend has continued this summer with Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens all arriving at Stamford Bridge to transform Enzo Maresca’s attack.

Once again, Chelsea have a bloated squad and must offload plenty of unwanted players to bring down their wage bill and make room for more potential signings.

So far, they have sold Felix, Madueke, Petrovic, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bashir Humphrey and Marcus Bettinelli, while also sending Jadon Sancho back to Manchester United.

Felix is the latest player to have departed, as he recently linked up with Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in a €50m (£43m) deal.

Teenage left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith will be the next through the exit door as he is poised to join sister club Strasbourg for £6.5m.

According to the Evening Standard, a host more names are on the chopping block at Chelsea before the September 1 transfer deadline, including Chilwell, Disasi and Raheem Sterling.

They all spent time away from Chelsea on loan last season and are not needed in Maresca’s squad, with the ‘ruthless’ Blues ‘stepping up’ sale talks.

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Chelsea want to sign Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho as a replacement for Sterling.

We understand Fulham are close to striking an agreement for Sterling, who has been put on the market for just £20m.

Chilwell and Disasi’s next moves are less clear. They spent time on loan at Crystal Palace and Aston Villa respectively but did not do enough to convince those clubs over permanent deals.

Renato Veiga, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja make up the rest of Chelsea’s latest ‘bomb squad’.

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Veiga, Chukwuemeka also up for sale

Veiga has agreed personal terms with Atletico Madrid and is now waiting to see if the Spanish giants can finalise a deal with Chelsea.

Chukwuemeka is prioritising a return to Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the second half of last season on loan, despite RB Leipzig having joined the race for his services.

Everton had the opportunity to sign centre-forward Broja permanently following the end of his loan spell, though injuries ruined the chances of that transfer.

Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah are other players who could be sold by Chelsea that the report does not mention.

These exits will help Chelsea fund moves for their next two top targets, Jorrel Hato and Xavi Simons.

Chelsea transfer news: Updates on Jackson’s potential destination

Striker Jackson has previously been described as untouchable at Chelsea, but that is no longer the case.

Man Utd have decided against making Jackson their new No 9, prioritising two other options.

Jackson could still remain in the Premier League when leaving Chelsea, however.

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