The Blues are keen to have a successful summer transfer window through well-placed sales
Chelsea are keen to raise extra funds for transfers through player sales this summer and remain intent on offloading either Marcos Alonso or Emerson Palmieri.
The two left-backs have found themselves increasingly on the sidelines as Ben Chilwell, last summer’s £50 million ($70m) signing from Leicester, is beginning to impress Thomas Tuchel.
At the beginning of Tuchel’s time in charge, Alonso ousted the England international from the starting XI but Chilwell has since fought back and reclaimed his place.
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What are the transfer dynamics at play?
Emerson has interest from Inter once again after previously seeing a loan move to Juventus collapse on deadline day in the summer.
The 26-year-old has been praised time and again by Tuchel for his attitude and work in training but that has only translated to sporadic substitute appearances.
His crowning moment came as he sealed the win with a goal in Chelsea’s last-16 Champions League victory at home to Atletico Madrid.
“I am so happy for him,” Tuchel said in March. “The guy suffers all the time from my decisions. We have three players for one position with Marcos Alonso, Ben Chilwell and Emerson.
“He is one of the nicest guys you can imagine. He’s always friendly, with unbelievable qualities. It was necessary to give him a reward and give him some minutes as a thank you for his attitude.
“It is not easy because he puts his personal situation aside and he plays his role, which is to give 100 per cent, be super professional and at the same time super nice. Never let anybody down or been in a bad mood. This is fantastic.
“I need to find new rewards for him.”
Although there’s interest from Serie A’s biggest clubs, no move for Emerson is likely to happen until after the European Championship, where he is likely to play a big part in Italy’s squad.
The defender’s contract expires in 2022 but there is an option to extend his deal for another year, which means that his contract effectively runs until 2023 – just like Alonso’s – leaving Chelsea with extra leverage in any summer talks.
However, Alonso is 30 years old and has a significantly larger salary, making him more difficult for Chelsea to sell.
Who else could be sold?
Chelsea similarly have too many forwards but they will likely see Olivier Giroud leave on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, the Blues have put a £40m ($56m) price tag on Tammy Abraham which has priced out West Ham, with Leicester also interested.
They could opt to keep Abraham should no serious suitors come forward, but they are hoping to add a superstar striker to their attack, with Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland and Inter’s Romelu Lukaku being considered.
However, neither of those clubs want to lose their star players and the Blues are banking on financial pressure in a tough economic climate to force their hand to enter talks.
There would also likely be competition from Manchester City should either striker become available.
Chelsea could raise up to £100m ($139m) with a host of loanees on the transfer list this summer ahead of new limits set by FIFA on the number of loanees allowed.
AC Milan are keen to take up their £26m (€30m/$36m) option to buy Fikayo Tomori, who would be happy to move to San Siro after an exceptional six-month loan spell in Serie A.
Further reading
- How Chelsea’s LGBT+ fan group is challenging in-stadium abuse
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