Chelsea made a statement in the Champions League yesterday by defeating Barcelona 3-0. Results such as these prove that the Blues are finally getting their recruitment right after spending vast amounts in the new Todd Boehly era at the club.
With Chelsea's prolific transfer strategy, there are always going to be casualties. The club will have to be ruthless, but their generous contract offers are becoming a sticking point for some. Therefore, here are five players who could be set to depart the Blues in the near future.
5 Chelsea players who are now expendable
Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling is the biggest name on this list as he is a multiple Premier League winner with Manchester City and a former England international. The forward was a big signing for Chelsea back in 2022, but his time at Stamford Bridge is now at a standstill.
Sterling was sent on loan to Arsenal last season, but failed to make an impact. Last summer, he was linked with a variety of clubs in the Premier League and across Europe. However, the Blues have found it hard to transfer the 30-year-old.
He is reportedly on £325,000 a week at Chelsea. This deal may have to be paid up if the Blues are to get him off their hands. There has been sympathy for Sterling as he posted an image on social media that showed his evening training routine. However, his manager, Enzo Maresca, was quick to put things into perspective when saying in a press conference about his father's nocturnal schedule as a fisherman.
Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson was a solid player for Chelsea in the Premier League last season, where he managed 10 goals. However, this, along with some untimely red cards, meant that Joao Pedro and Liam Delap were brought in to replace him.
Pedro has hit the ground running at Chelsea, whilst Delap finally got his first goal of the season against Barca. Meanwhile, Jackson is now on loan at Bayern Munich, where he is a backup option to Harry Kane.
Jackson has still managed four goals in all competitions this campaign. He is contracted to Chelsea until 2033, but the German club does have an obligation to buy him permanently at the end of the season.
Axel Disasi
Axel Disasi is another player in Chelsea's bomb squad alongside Sterling. He joined the Blues from AS Monaco and played 37 times for the West London side in the Premier League. He spent the second half of last season at Aston Villa, where he played 10 times in all competitions.
Despite rumors of various potential transfers in the last window, nothing came to fruition. So far this season, Disasi has made just one appearance in Premier League 2 against Reading U21.
The former France international is contracted to Chelsea until 2029, but could be transferred in January. These long-term contracts work well for Chelsea's best players, but do become a headache for the ones that they want to get rid of.
Dário Essugo
Chelsea has the best defensive midfielder in the world, Moises Caicedo, starting for them. Therefore, this has left Romeo Lavia and Dário Essugo with few options for game time. Whilst Lavia has been able to play seven times this season, Essugo is yet to feature.
It has not helped that the player has had to have surgery. He is only 20 years old and still under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2033, but his development has been disrupted.
Mykhaylo Mudryk
Mykhaylo Mudryk was once considered a coup for Chelsea when he was signed from under Arsenal's nose. Now it is the Gunners who do this to other clubs. For example, they signed Eberechi Eze when he was set to sign for Tottenham Hotspur. Eze came back to haunt Spurs by scoring a hat-trick against them in the North London Derby last weekend.
Mudryk's career could have panned out very differently had he joined Arsenal. The Gunners are now challenging for the Premier League title, whilst Mudryk is suspended for doping.
He has not played in the league since November last year, which was ironically against Arsenal. It will likely be a long time before we see Mudryk playing any form of soccer again. This is a huge shame for the talented Ukrainian who is just 24 years old.