A £72 million player really wants to leave Chelsea this summer, and is set for crunch sit-down talks with new head coach Enzo Maresca very soon.
Chelsea players facing Maresca axe as Boehly aims to sell
There are a fair few players on the Stamford Bridge books which may not be for much longer, as Todd Boehly and high-ranking Chelsea chiefs look to make sales before June 30 and avoid PSR trouble.
Todd Boehly set to trigger £100,000-per-week Chelsea target's release clause
Enzo Maresca wants the deal to be done.
ByEmilio GalantiniJun 6, 2024
Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and even Raheem Sterling in parts have been mentioned as players who could leave Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
Boehly will be especially keen to rid the club of Lukaku's reported £325,000-per-week wages, with the Belgian proving to be one of Chelsea's biggest transfer flops of recent memory. Lukaku is thought to be attracting Saudi interest after a semi-successful loan spell at Roma last season, while there have been rumours that Sterling could be used as a makeweight in Chelsea deals for key targets.
Gallagher would be the least popular sale of the bunch, but his contract situation (expiring in 2025) means Chelsea may have to make the ruthless decision to sell him on.
A far more easy call, though, would be finding a permanent buyer for £72 million signing Kepa Arrizabalaga – who spent last season on loan at Real Madrid.
Arrizabalaga set for Maresca talks as he eyes Chelsea exit
The Spaniard, according to London World and journalist Rahman Osman, has his eyes on the exit door this summer. It is believed that Arrizabalaga really wants to leave Chelsea and is set for talks with Maresca over his future in the next few days. The Blues, for their part, are happy to sell him given his contract expires in 2025.
The 29-year-old would only be happy to stay if he's guaranteed a chance to fight for his place, but that appears unlikely given Chelsea's reported pursuit of a new keeper and Maresca's admiration for Robert Sanchez.
“It’s not only about the penalty save but it’s also about the performance, it was a very good performance,” said former Chelsea assistant coach Arno Michels after Arrizabalaga's penalty heroics in an FA Cup clash with Plymouth in 2022.
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid
7.69
Girona 0-3 Real Madrid
7.42
Celta Vigo 0-1 Real Madrid
7.39
Sevilla 1-1 Real Madrid
7.27
Real Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad
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“In the last matches, I’ve felt him very reliable in his game. His strength is to save penalties, he’s shown it a few times now: in the Carabao Cup twice, against Villarreal, and even in training, it’s hard to beat him. In penalty shoot-outs, he has the ability to read the mind of what the player is going to do. We are very happy with Kepa and he deserves this trust because he is a fantastic guy.
“To work with him for one year, it is hard for him because Edou (Mendy) is playing very good, but Kepa is constantly doing very good work in training, reliable work. He is friendly and an amazing guy. So I am very happy for him he could save us from a penalty shoot-out.”