Chelsea begin huge transfer firesale with FOURTEEN players up for sale including Madueke, Nkunku and forgotten £45m flop
CHELSEA are preparing for a huge summer of sales with up to FOURTEEN players facing the axe.
The Blues finished in the top four – to qualify for the Champions League – while topping off the campaign by lifting the Conference League trophy.
Despite the ultimately successful campaign, Enzo Maresca is braced to start next season with a new-look squad of fresh faces.
Liam Delap is set to sign for £30million from Ipswich while wingers Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho are linked with a move to West London.
But according to The Guardian, Chelsea are also looking to offload a hoard of unwanted stars in their squad.
With a winger likely to arrive this summer, Noni Madueke – who scored 11 last season – is said to be on the market.
Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix – who spent the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan – are other attackers up for sale.
Nkunku arrived from RB Leipzig in 2023 for £52.7million in 2023 and scored 14 goals last season – but only three in the league.
He had underwhelming stints up front while also failing to find form out wide or in an attacking midfield role.
Bayern Munich inquired about the Frenchman in January while Manchester United have also been linked in the past.
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Felix first joined Chelsea in 2023 on loan before later joining Barcelona only to move back to the Blues in a permanent £45m deal.
But by February, he had fallen out of favour with Maresca and joined AC Milan on loan managing just three goals in 21 games.
A move back to Benfica – where Felix first made his name – or Flamengo in Brazil are potential options for the forward.
Goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic could also be sold if the right bid comes in.
Petrovic signed in 2023 but spent last season on loan at Strasbourg while Sanchez has spent two seasons at Chelsea after joining from Brighton for £30m.
Maresca has continued to back Sanchez despite shaky form – but recent reports say the Spaniard’s future is up in the air.
Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi are all due back from their respective loans but remain out of favour in defence.
Meanwhile Wesley Fofana – signed for £70m from Leicester in 2022 – is also said to be at risk amid his injury struggles.
Trevoh Chalobah was loaned out to Crystal Palace last summer after Chelsea failed to move him on permanently.
Chalobah was later recalled in January and despite finishing the season in fine form, he could still be at risk of leaving.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu are midfielders with uncertain futures.
Dewsbury-Hall arrived from Leicester for £30m last summer but has been reduced to mainly cup action in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.
Chukwuemeka ended the campaign on loan at Borussia Dortmund while Ugochukwu is due to return after Southampton’s relegation.
And Raheem Sterling – who has two years left on his £325,000-a-week contract – has no future at Chelsea after a disappointing Arsenal loan spell.
Sterling was frozen out by Maresca at the start of the season and scored just once for the Gunners – in the League Cup.