A major European club have opened talks with one member of Enzo Maresca’s squad at Chelsea via his representatives, as the player himself looks to quit Stamford Bridge ahead of the January transfer window.
Players who could be sold or loaned out by Chelsea
There are numerous players who could be sold or loaned out by the west Londoners in the winter transfer market.
Chelsea chiefs really rate £62m player but could still let him go in January
The west Londoners have a decision to make in the coming weeks.
ByEmilio GalantiniOct 11, 2024
Winger Mykhailo Mudryk is facing a loan spell away from Chelsea in January, with Todd Boehly and BlueCo considering whether to hand the Ukranian a temporary spell away for the benefit of his career.
Liverpool (away)
October 20
Newcastle (home)
October 27
Man United (away)
November 3
Arsenal (home)
November 10
Leicester City (home)
November 23
Chelsea could also part company with left-back Ben Chilwell, as Maresca deems the Englishman surplus to requirements and ready to sell. The likes of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi have also been linked with exits recently, but one player who is repeatedly being mentioned as a candidate to leave is 20-year-old ace Carney Chukwuemeka.
AC Milan open talks with Chukwuemeka's agents as he looks to leave Chelsea
AC Milan are believed to be considering a January bid for Chukwuemeka, and journalist Simon Phillips has now provided the latest on his future.
Writing via his Substack, Phillips writes that Milan have opened new talks with Chukwuemeka’s agents ahead of January, with the ex-Aston Villa gem signed for £20 million looking to move away for game time mid-season.
It is claimed Milan are trying to convince Chukwuemeka to make a move to the San Siro in the winter, after he didn’t move there in the last transfer window.
The Englishman – who has a £40 million release clause in his deal as per Phillips, was courted by Milan in the summer, and many around his camp believed that he would actullay end up at Crystal Palace.
However, Chukwuemeka has since been confined to just one appearance in all competitions after failing to seal a Chelsea exit.
While things haven’t exactly worked out since his move from Villa in 2022 so far, past plaudits indicate exactly why the Rossoneri are so keen.
“The ultimate goal is to populate the under-23 team with 11 outstanding 16, 17 and 18-year-olds, then I will know it’s working,” said chief executive officer Christian Purslow in 2020.
“And that will take years, not months. We need to be higher in recruiting the best eight-year-old, nine-year-old, 10-year-old, 11-year-old, 12-year-old, 14, 16, one a year that makes it and gets a professional contract at 16.
“I want that player. We have one right now, probably the best 16-year-old in England, Carney Chukwuemeka. Absolutely no debate, he’s starting for the Under-23s. That’s what you want with your 16-year-olds.”
Meanwhile, ex-Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard called the £100,000-per-week midfielder a “fantastic” talent during his time in charge at Villa Park.
“The reason we put him on is because we believe in him and we trust him,” Gerrard explained.
“He’s a fantastic talent and there’s still a lot of growth and evolving for him to do. It’s important that we give him that support and we give him the environment to keep evolving in. But you can see his profile, you can see his quality – it didn’t faze him when he came on. I know he’ll think about that chance (he missed against City) all night long because I’ve been there myself.
“We’ve had the two moments in the second half, it’s a fantastic chance for him, but he’ll learn from that and he’ll get better and have more opportunities in the future with that.
“But he’ll score many goals for Aston Villa, he’ll create many goals because he’s that type of talent. I think we showed our trust and our belief in him by calling upon him because it was a big substitution but we believed he would get that opportunity.”