5 players Chelsea must sell ahead of the 2022-23 Premier League season
A team is usually expected to strengthen its squad after winning the UEFA Champions League, but that was not quite the case with Chelsea. The team from West London won the competition in the 2020/21 season, but in the previous edition, they were plagued with problems outside the football pitch.
Having Russian ownership meant Chelsea’s economic activities were frozen temporarily last season, but now the fans are hoping for new dawn under the ownership of American businessman Todd Boehly.
So far, the Blues have done fairly well in terms of additions to the squad. They have signed English winger Raheem Sterling and Senegalese central defender Kalidou Koulibaly, but manager Thomas Tuchel has made it clear that he wants a couple of more players, to attain which the Blues might also need to sell some of their ‘surplus to requirement’ footballers.
Check out five players Chelsea must sell this summer in the transfer window:
#1 Ross Barkley
When Ross Barkley arrived at Chelsea from Everton in 2017, the transfer made a lot of sense. Chelsea needed someone reliable in their midfield, Barkley was a part of the England national team back then, and the operation cost the blues only £15 million.
However, the player did not live up to his potential, and the arrival of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic has seen Barkley being turned into a bit-part player. Last season, the 28-year-old made only 14 appearances for the club, of which 11 were cameos from the bench. With Conor Gallagher coming back from his loan at Crystal Palace, Tuchel will certainly look to offload Barkley from the wage bill.
#2 Michy Batshuayi
Michy Batshuayi could be sold this summer
Michy Batshuayi’s story is a lot like Barkley’s. Back in 2016, Chelsea found it fit to spend a hefty fee of £33.2 million on him when he was scoring goals for fun for Marseille in the Ligue 1. However, the ‘Batsman’ has never found his footing in the Premier League.
Though he has made 77 appearances and has scored 25 goals for the Blues, Batshuayi has always been a squad rotation player, operating under the shadow of the main striker. He was on loan at Besiktas last season and a permanent switch to Turkey seems likely, with Trabzonspor interested.
3. Tiemoue Bakayoko
When Chelsea spent £40 million on Tiemoue Bakayoko back in 2017, they thought they had just unearthed the next N’Golo Kante. The midfielder was playing incredibly well for Monaco in Ligue 1, but ever since he arrived in London, things have only been incredibly bad.
He played 43 matches in his first season and his poor performances have forced the club to loan him out to a plethora of clubs ever since. However, he has not left an impression in any of those loan spells either, which is a reason why Chelsea has not been able to sell him yet.
4. Baba Rahman
Baba Rahman was on loan at Reading last season
Chelsea has a history of investing in youngsters playing in countries outside England, and while some investments like Eden Hazard turned out to be exceptional, many of these deals have turned out to be failures.
One such move was the signing of Ghanian defender Baba Rahman for £14 million. Like Bakayoko, he was given plenty of opportunities to impress in his first season but has since been on loan in various clubs. Rahman too has failed to convert any of those seasons into permanent deals.
5. Matt Miazga
Before Christian Pulisic sizzled in a Chelsea kit and earned the title of ‘Captain America,’ Chelsea had Matt Miazga – another player from the United States. However, Miazga is not a player many Chelsea fans will remember, perhaps due to no fault of his own.
The Blues spent £3.5 million to acquire his signature, but he has never got a proper opportunity to showcase his talent, playing only a couple of matches for Chelsea so far. He was sent on loan to the Spanish side Deportivo Alaves, but could not cement his place in the starting XI there as well.