Chelsea fire sale? Kovacic, Koulibaly, Chilwell futures called into question after expensive January | OneFootball

Chelsea trio Callum Hudson-Odoi, Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell have all been linked with exits following the club’s expensive winter transfer window.

The Blues spent close to £300million on eight new players last month as Graham Potter was heavily backed by Todd Boehly.

Boehly also strongly backed Thomas Tuchel last summer, and look at how that worked out…

The American businessman has already spent over £600m on transfers despite only taking on ownership of the Stamford Bridge club last summer.

With the number of fresh faces, it is inevitable that some players will have to be moved on.

Chelsea were interested in selling Conor Gallagher on deadline day, though the majority of interest was for a loan deal, while bids for a permanent transfer did not meet the Blues’ valuation.

Furthermore, Hakim Ziyech was very close to leaving the club for Paris Saint-Germain, but the move fell through over some complications that appear to have been Chelsea’s fault.

Several players face an uncertain future in west London, and according to The Guardian, there could be a mass exodus at the end of the season.

The report states that Chelsea will ‘listen to offers’ for Christian Pulisic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Aubameyang and Koulibaly only joined the club last year, yet appear to be on the chopping block.

Pulisic is not a surprising one to see up for sale, especially after the £62m signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk and expected summer arrival of Christoper Nkunku.

Kovacic is a slightly confusing one, in my opinion, given his consistent performances in Chelsea’s midfield over the years.

Having said that, the Blues did just fork out over £100m on Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Romelu Lukaku’s long-term future is very much uncertain. The Belgian striker is currently on loan at Inter Milan, and it is unclear whether or not he will stay there beyond this season.

The report adds that Callum Hudson-Odoi is ‘unlikely’ to stay at Chelsea when he returns from his loan at Bayer Leverkusen.

Perhaps surprisingly, Arsenal are ‘tracking’ the winger’s situation.

While it is hard to imagine Hudson-Odoi becoming a regular starter at the Emirates, it could still be a decent move for him.

The Gunners are not as rash and free-spending in the transfer market as Chelsea and Mikel Arteta has a wonderful record of developing wide players.

If he is available for a decent price, I can see this being a signing Arsenal fans can get behind.

Following the departure of Joao Cancelo, Manchester City are interested in signing Ben Chilwell, the report adds.

Chilwell has had his fair share of injuries since joining the Blues for around £50m and the Blues could be open to letting him leave for the right price with Marc Cucurella at the club.

Former City player, Raheem Sterling, is apparently willing to stay and fight for his place despite the signing of Mudryk.

While plenty of sales are on the cards, the report adds that Chelsea are eager to extend the contract of Mason Mount, whose current deal expires in 2024.

Should contract talks ‘drag on’, it is said that Liverpool could make an approach this summer.