Chelsea have put 14 players up for sale this summer and Cole Palmer has been tipped for a shock exit from the “selling club”.
Enzo Maresca’s side secured Champions League football on the final day of the Premier League season, with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground seeing them finish fourth behind Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.
And the Blues rounded off the campaign by completing the European treble, beating Real Betis 4-1 to add the Conference League title to their Champions League and Europa League gongs.
There are finally signs of BlueCo’s model of signing young, talented players reaping rewards, but Martin Keown isn’t convinced it’s going to work and can even see Chelsea selling star player Cole Palmer in the not-too-distant future.
“You need balance in your squad in terms of the age,” Gunners legend Keown told talkSPORT.
“I’m not sure about the model. I thought the club were doing exceptionally well for many years. Five Premier Leagues they won in the Abramovich era. And I felt the club went backwards in an endeavour to go forwards.
“They spent £1.5billion, going round in circles, five different managers, Graham Potter given a five-year deal, out of the door in months. There’s been a lot of instability in the club, lot of young players coming in.
“I’m not totally convinced. I think Cole Palmer will be sold at some point because he’s such a wonderful talent and I think maybe this becomes more of a selling club which the fans are not used to.
“It’s great they’re back in the Champions League but I think when you look at what they had under the previous manager Thomas Tuchel, winning the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League in just 12 months, they went backwards [when they sacked him].”
The Blues have already secured one signing this summer, with Liam Delap joining from Ipswich Town after scoring 12 goals for the relegated side, but while Keown rates the deal, he doesn’t believe the 22-year-old will take them to next level.
“Not dissimilar to Arsenal they [Chelsea] need someone else to come in there [centre-forward] and Liam Delap’s going to be a nice signing for them,” the former defender added.
“Is he actually experienced enough to take them to another level? Will he even play? Because Nicolas Jackson isn’t all that bad and when he was out for long periods he was a big miss.”
They’ve also been linked with Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike as well as Arsenal target Benjamin Sesko to further bolster Maresca’s No.9 options, while a left winger is also a priority, whether they take up the option to sign Jadon Sancho permanently from United or not, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens high up on their shortlist.
But there are also expected to be a number of player sales, with Noni Madueke included on a list of 14 available for transfer, according to The Guardian.
The report adds:
‘Christopher Nkunku and João Félix, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan, are other attackers up for sale.
‘The goalkeepers Robert Sánchez and Djordje Petrovic are on the market. Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell and Axel Disasi are out of favour in defence and Wesley Fofana’s fitness problems mean suitable offers for him will be hard to turn down. Chelsea tried to sell Trevoh Chalobah last summer.
‘Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu are available after making little impression in midfield and Raheem Sterling, who has two years left on his £325,000 a week contract, has no future at the club after a disappointing loan at Arsenal.’