Chelsea have reportedly made 12 players available for sale, with Xabi Alonso plotting a major overhaul of the squad. Alonso was ushered in during the summer and is the latest manager to try and fix Chelsea’s problems.
The Blues finished 10th in the Premier League last term, missing out on European football altogether. As such, there have been several rumours involving Chelsea players this summer, with some seemingly angling for a move away from the club.
Man City interest
According to BBC Sport, a whopping 12 players have been given price tags and told that if an offer comes in, they’d be allowed to leave. Among those are three players Manchester City have taken an interest in, with new boss Enzo Fernandez keen to reunite with some of his old players.
Enzo Fernandez is the latest to be linked with an Etihad Stadium switch, with the 2023 European champions identifying him as a Rodri replacement. Fernandez had been mooted as a potential Real Madrid signing earlier this year, but the La Liga outfit chose to explore different avenues instead.
He’s alongside Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto in having been spoken about as a potential City signings, with Maresca having taken a liking to the pair of them. They won’t come cheap though, with Chelsea demanding at least £100million for Fernandez, as well as £75m for Gusto and Neto.
Squad trimming
Elsewhere, Alonso is keen to cut the Chelsea squad to around 25 senior players, with the likes of Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Marc Guiu, and David Datro Fofana all on the chopping block. It’s said they’ll be available for around £30m or less, while strikers Liam Delap, and Nicolas Jackson would be allowed to move on if an offer was forthcoming.
As for other potential departures, youngsters like Gabriel Slonina, Emmanuel Emegha, Dario Essugo could see their time with the club brought to an end. Without European football on offer this season, Chelsea could struggle to balance the minutes across their squad, which explains why Alonso is so keen to cut the squad.
Upcoming fixtures
Chelsea will begin the Alonso era away to local rivals Fulham on the opening weekend of the season, before matches against Brighton, Arsenal and Hull. The west Londoners’ pre-season preparations will come to a close this week, with matches against AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta'zim of Malaysia to come.
