With Chelsea FC reeling from their home loss to Sunderland and sitting ninth in the Premier League table, they can thank the soccer gods that Liverpool are also struggling and everybody is wondering what’s wrong with them instead of the Blues.
Nevertheless, we’re gimlet-eyed folks over here, so we’re going to speculate on who might be on the outs for the West London club when the transfer window opens again after the new year.
5 Chelsea players who are likeliest to leave in 2026
Gabriel Slonina
The Blues already have four goalkeepers on their roster. Robert Sánchez probably bought himself another season with his Club World Cup-winning performance against Paris St.-Germain. Filip Jörgensen did not exactly impress in Chelsea’s net when Sánchez was benched last season, so the Dane might be gone in the spring, too. Ted Curd is a teenage youth prospect.
Still, it’s the native of Addison, Ill., who gets the nod here. He’s already been out on loan three times, with his loan last season to Barnsley cut short due to injury. Likely that come 2026, he’ll be one of the hundreds of players that Chelsea sends out on loan. It would be great if an American netminder got to play between the sticks like legendary Chelsea keepers Peter Bonetti and Petr Čech, but it’s probably not happening for Slonina.
Marc Guiu
Speaking of Maresca, he really doesn’t seem to like the attitude of this Spanish teenager, as evidenced by the coach calling out the striker publicly. The team sent the Barcelona academy graduate out on loan to Sunderland back in August, but then recalled him due to a hamstring injury to Liam Delap. With Delap set to return soon, Chelsea may be looking for another team to take Guiu on loan in the winter.
Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, and Mykhailo Mudryk
These guys don’t have squad numbers, which tells you everything you need to know. Disasi is 27 and still hasn’t played up to the standard of a Champions League squad. The big central defender failed to get much playing time during his loan spell at Aston Villa last season. Maybe a move back to France is in the cards?
Sterling has been much traveled and much maligned (unjustly) during his time in England. It would be funny if he signed for Manchester United just so his career resumé could include all of England’s storied clubs. Seriously, though, he’s only 30 and could still provide some attacking width and initiative for a team looking to make noise at the top level.
As for Mudryk, he failed a doping test and is now awaiting punishment that could be as much as a four-year ban. The Ukrainian winger is fighting the charge, and he won’t go anywhere until the case is resolved. Even so, teams don’t like paying guys who are only taking up space, and it’s not like Mudryk was wildly productive for Chelsea before the failed test. Even if he’s found innocent, the Blues might very well wash their hands of him.