Chelsea are preparing for a busy summer
The possibility of missing out on Champions League football this year could have serious consequences for Chelsea. The Blues want to add a number of big name attackers this summer to correct their issues, but Roman Abramovich also wants to comply with Financial Fair Play. That could mean a summer exit for these four big-name Chelsea starlets.
Reports from England claim that Chelsea are involved with Anthony Martial and a number of other potential attacking options. Abramovich is also keen to lock up Eden Hazard to a bumper new contract. To put it plainly, Chelsea are going to spend a small fortune this summer if they’re able to secure all the attackers they’d like to acquire.
That puts officials at Stamford Bridge in an awkward situation. They believe they have some really talented young players in their pipeline, but there isn’t really any way to meaningfully integrate them into the first team squad. Some Chelsea officials would prefer to hold on to their young talent indefinitely, but the need to spend massive cash this summer is going to trump those desires.
That’s why Michy Batshuayi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Kenedy and Tammy Abraham are all on the potential chopping block. Each player has flashed tremendous ability at times, but none of the four seem ready to seize hold of a starting place at Chelsea quite yet.
Batshuayi seems like the most obvious player to go. Even if Chelsea, as expected, dump Antonio Conte this summer it’s hard to envision the Belgian coming back to Stamford Bridge. He endured a horrible time under Conte and his time away at Dortmund seems to have invigorated him. Don’t be surprised if Chelsea strike a deal with the Bundesliga club to make his move permanent.
More from Chelsea FC
- Tuchel has eyes on Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah
- Permanent move of Cobham graduate Lewis Hall to Newcastle United
- Chelsea are not pleased with the Lukaku-Vlahović swap deal
- Chelsea joins the race against Liverpool for Romeo Lavia
- Blues select Reece James as captain and Chilwell is new vice-captain
Ruben Loftus-Cheek might be the most attractive potential purchase of the lot. He put in an excellent season at Crystal Palace before having his year cut short due to injury. A Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.02 in the league is excellent for a 22-year-old midfielder. Palace would surely like to have him back but a bigger club may come in and try to steal him away.
Kenedy didn’t play in quite as many matches as Loftus-Cheek, but his play for Newcastle might have been even more impressive. The Magpies would love to retain his services, but again, they might be outbid by larger clubs. Chelsea may also prefer to ship him outside of England to avoid facing him in the future.
The most intriguing case here is that of Tammy Abraham. The 20-year-old English striker was also involved in Premier League action this season but his campaign at Swansea was pretty uneven. He did score five times for the Swans, but he never managed to galvanize their attack. It’s important to remember that he’s two years younger than both Kenedy and Loftus-Cheek though. There’s still plenty of time for his game to develop.
Next: Chelsea lining up big name replacement for Willian
As long as Chelsea continue to hoard young talent they will repeatedly be faced with tough decisions like this. There’s something charming about developing homegrown talent, but the Blues are purely a results-based business. That’s why some of their brightest young talents will be permanently sold this summer.