First victim of Chelsea cull identified, with Pochettino to brutally axe Man City, West Ham linked star

Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen will reportedly be the first player they sell in January as they scramble to comply with the Premier League’s spending rules. 

Blues co-owner Todd Boehly has spent over £1bn in the last three transfer windows combined and now Mauricio Pochettino will be forced to part ways with several players.

As revealed by TEAMtalk, as many as seven Chelsea players are on the chopping block, with a major squad clear-out looking inevitable this winter.

Noni Madueke, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, Marc Cucurella and Axel Disasi are among the others touted for an exit as the London club aims to balance their books.

A squad reshuffle could be exactly what Chelsea need to get back on track, though. They currently sit in 12th place in the Premier League table after losing seven of their 16 matches so far.

Selling players could also give Pochettino the opportunity to make a couple of new additions in January, too, with Napoli superstar striker Victor Osimhen one of their top targets.

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Maatsen could be first to leave Chelsea in January

According to Football.London, Chelsea are ‘looking to sell’ Maatsen early in the January window.

Burnley had a £31.5m bid accepted for him in the summer after he enjoyed a successful loan spell with them last season, but he opted to stay and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.

The Netherlands international has played just 130 minutes of Premier League football this season, however, with Cucurella and Levi Colwill ahead of him in the pecking order.

Nevertheless, several top clubs are thought to be admirers of Maatsen with Manchester City and West Ham among those linked with a shock move for the 21-year-old.

Football.London state that Maatsen is now ‘more open to moving on from Chelsea’ and he looks set to be one of the first to leave in January.

The defender showed serious promise for Burnley last season, scoring four goals and making six assists in 39 Championship appearances.

Maatsen needs regular game time to reach his potential, though, so a January transfer could be the perfect solution to help get his career back on track.

Reports suggest that Chelsea will demand a fee in the region of £30m for the youngster this winter.

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