Chelsea are in dump mode, boosted by the double deal now being closed with Borussia Dortmund. The German club are working on signing Carney Chukwuemeka and Aaron Anselmino, the former permanently for £24million and the latter on loan with no option nor obligation attached.
If completed, that will take Chelsea’s summer sales beyond £270m, allowing them to scrub another two names off any whiteboard tracking those exits, as was the case with Noni Madueke, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Joao Felix and everyone else with whom they have bid adieu.
With less than a week left of the transfer window, however, Chelsea’s business is nowhere near completed. There are also the futures of Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Tyrique George, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, David Datro Fofana and Alfie Gilchrist that require resolving, and that is before even getting to the academy graduates available on loan.
Say what you will of Chelsea and their fondness for trading, they sell well. Renato Veiga left for Villarreal this week in a transfer worth up to £26m, for example, a year after the 22-year-old joined for £12m. Veiga has signed a seven-year contract with the La Liga side. Those long deals for which Chelsea have gained a reputation are catching on elsewhere in Europe.
Jackson, 24, and Nkunku, 27, have been training with Enzo Maresca’s first-team squad rather than with the bomb squad working separately. They have had potential suitors. Newcastle, Aston Villa and more have enquired on Jackson. RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and others have logged interest in Nkunku. One issue is Chelsea are prioritising permanent sales, not loans.
It is understood they still want around £80m for Jackson and £40m for Nkunku, both of whom joined two summers ago. Valuations do not matter much, in truth. It depends more on what your counterparts are willing to pay. The reason they are still training under Maresca is in case they end up staying once September 1 is upon us.
Nicolas Jackson (centre) and Christopher Nkunku (left) are heading for the exit after two years in west London
Carney Chukwuemeka is set to make his loan move to Borussia Dortmund permanent
Chelsea need to sell before they can buy — with personal terms agreed with Xavi Simons (left)
The same goes for George, who was left out of Chelsea’s last squad for their 5-1 win at West Ham. That was the first time the 19-year-old had missed out on making Maresca’s squad in any competition since January. Roma and Leipzig are among those interested in the academy teenager whose valuation has not yet been revealed. Chelsea will insist on a significant sell-on free if any deal is to be done for George.
With Sterling, Chilwell and Co, it is felt there is little chance of reintegration should they stay beyond this summer. Sources say Chelsea would accept £20m for the 30-year-old, maybe even less, with the value of his remaining contract until 2027 worth more than £30m.
Daily Mail Sport revealed three weeks ago that Sterling’s preference was to stay in London and that West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace were among his options. We added at the time that his situation was not expected to be resolved until closer to the window’s end. Others in Europe, such as Besiktas in Turkey, have also asked for the particulars of Sterling’s position.
Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali, the Clearlake chief who is heavily involved in the club’s transfer dealings, much more so than Todd Boehly, was at Craven Cottage on Sunday, sitting next to Fulham owner Shahid Khan as the Blues’ west London rivals drew 1-1 with Manchester United.
We are now in the endgame for Sterling. While Chelsea are craving a clean separation, another loan deal being done cannot be disregarded, given the salary involved.
Chilwell is likewise available for a slashed price or a loan if necessary. Sources say both Sterling and Chilwell have remained professional and shown no signs of throwing their toys out of the pram this summer.
There was once a time when Chelsea would refuse to do business with the odd club, not least Tottenham Hotspur. There are no such restrictions today. Sure, they would rather not sell to a direct rival, but if Spurs decided to come in for Nkunku this week, they would take that call.
Disasi, 27, cheekily revealed a picture of the ‘bomb squad’ changing room last week with the caption ‘faut pas te decourager’ (‘don’t get discouraged’).
Tyrique George has interest from RB Leipzig and Roma but Chelsea will insist on a significant sell-on free if any deal is to be done
England internationals Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling have been out of the picture for some time and there is little change of reintegration even if they stay this summer
Bournemouth sources have confirmed their interest in Disasi, though they insist it is not yet as close as social media was suggesting on Monday morning. Conversations are continuing over a compromise as, last we heard, there was still work to do over their respective valuations.
Gilchrist has interest from four Championship clubs. One of their own and still only 21, Chelsea have thus far insisted they want a permanent sale. But with the deadline only days away, we are now told that they will consider loan offers.
Chelsea are trying to sell before they buy. Daily Mail Sport has been told that personal terms with Xavi Simons have been agreed for some time, for example. All that remains is the first official bid going into Leipzig, once space and funds are freed up. The Simons camp are waiting patiently for news of next steps.
Helpfully, Simons’ representatives also look after Jackson — so they are already well aware that Chelsea are working hard on finalising outgoings before turning to incomings.
