The last 24 hours could be instrumental in Chelsea’s summer transfer window. A total of six Chelsea exits have been confirmed out of which five have been finalized in the last 24 hours. Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy are set to leave the Blues this summer.
Chelsea’s one of the main objectives this summer is to offload the deadwood and the players who are not part of the club’s future plans. The money through the sales would allow CFC to balance the books and bring in new faces without attracting scrutiny regarding Financial Fair Play policies.
In the last few days, a host of names had been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia’s PIF has excellent relations with Clearlake Capital. N’Golo Kante was the first player to be linked followed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy.
Transfer fee for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz
Chelsea were also in talks to sell Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz to Manchester City and Arsenal respectively. Both the deals have now gone through and official announcements are expected soon.
Arsenal wanted to sign Havertz and Chelsea had slapped an initial price tag of around £75 million. Real Madrid wanted Havertz but were unwilling to pay such high fees for the German which stalled the talks. The Gunners wanted to get the deal done and after several rounds of negotiations the transfer fee has been agreed between CFC and Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side will pay £65 million including add-ons to the Blues in exchange of Havertz’s services.
On the other hand, Kovacic to Manchester City is also a done deal. The Champions held interest in the Croatian ever since he was made available in the market by CFC. Personal terms were agreed a long time ago and only agreement regarding the transfer fee had to be reached.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Kovacic will join Manchester City for £30 million. The Croat is not deadwood but given Chelsea’s aggressive push to sign Moises Caicedo and other midfield targets, a midfield revolution is on the verge and Kovacic could have lost his place in the team as a consequence. With his deal expiring next summer, CFC decided to cash in on him.
Transfer fee for Chelsea players Koulibaly, Ziyech and Mendy
There are four players who are headed for Saudi Arabia – Ziyech, Koulibaly, Mendy and Kante. Kante will depart on a free transfer, joining Al Ittihad. Shot stopper Mendy will join Al Ahli for an undisclosed sum. The Senegalese goalkeeper will sign a three year deal with the Middle East club.
Ziyech had been strongly linked with a move to Al Nassr as the Saudi Pro League club pushed to sign the Moroccan, who barely had a future at Stamford Bridge. The 30 year old arrived for £33 million but his transfer fee to Al Nassr has been quoted at £8 million by The Telegraph.
Koulibaly, who arrived just a year ago from Napoli for £33 million and signed a lucrative contract that would have seen him earn £8.2 million a season at Chelsea. Unfortunately, he has failed to settle in London and was ready to be sold if a suitable offer comes in. Koulibaly is set to join Al Hilal in Saudi for a fee in the region of £17 million. The exits of Havertz, Koulibaly, Kovacic and Ziyech will see Chelsea earn £120 million in transfer fees and offload players like Koulibaly and Kovacic who were on high salaries.
Have CFC done good business by selling the aforementioned players?