Chelsea Summer Clear-out: Four Players Who Need to Leave
Chelsea have embarked on yet another expensive shopping spree this summer but, while new signings are important to this squad, departures are just as key.
Not only do the Blues need to raise money to ensure they steer clear of potential sanctions next year, but Chelsea officials are also working to trim the wage budget, and there are plenty of players whose salaries are no longer sustainable.
Here are four players who need to head out this summer.
Romelu Lukaku
It’s time for this circus to end. No more loans. Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea has been an unmitigated disaster from the very start.
Whether he should have ever been signed under Thomas Tuchel is up for debate, but the Belgian has done a great job of sabotaging his own career ever since.
Having upset Chelsea fans with his infamous interview, Lukaku managed to burn his bridges with both Inter and Juventus last summer and is now banking on a move to Napoli to reunite with Antonio Conte.
This can’t be another loan. Just get a decent fee and be done with it.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa Arrizabalaga’s Chelsea future has been decided for several years now, but the issue is finding a club prepared to offer him an escape route.
A loan to Real Madrid last summer gave Kepa the chance to put himself in the shop window, only for his performances to relegate him to the bench.
He’s now back at Chelsea, begging for the chance to become Madrid’s backup goalkeeper again. Kepa is one of Chelsea’s top earners and finding someone to take on the final year of his contract is not going to be easy, but the 29-year-old needs to make the effort as well.
Drop those wage demands and go find a new home.
Malang Sarr
Remember him? It would be easy to poke fun at Malang Sarr for sticking around at Chelsea and collecting a reported £100,000-a-week, but by all accounts, he did all he could to get out of that lucrative pay day last January by accepting a pitiful contract termination sum before seeing that offer rescinded at the last second.
Chelsea had the chance to cut their losses on him midway through last season. For whatever reason, they decided to keep paying him a six-figure salary to not even train with the team. That mistake cannot be repeated.
Armando Broja
Armando Broja’s career stalled horribly over the past two seasons, with a serious knee injury kick-starting a decline from which he is yet to recover. Once healthy, Broja was sent out on loan to Fulham in January to try and get more minutes under his belt, only to find Rodrigo Muniz cosplaying as Ronaldo Fenomeno.
Broja played just 81 minutes across what was supposed to be his comeback tour and now finds himself battling to prove he can cut it as a top-flight striker.
The opportunities he needs, both to rebuild his sharpness and showcase his skills, aren’t going to come at Chelsea, whose love of selling academy graduates makes a parting of ways the only logical solution.
Departures are just as crucial as arrivals for Chelsea this summer. Clearing out these high earners will help balance the books and allow the club to focus on building a sustainable squad for the future.
Chelsea Summer Clear-out: Four Players Who Need to Leave
