Chelsea will downsize its squad… with summer recruits

The sun appears again above Stamford Bridge. After two moribund seasons and complicated first matches in this new year, the London club is in the title race. It is only two points behind the leader, Liverpool, with one more match played, and remains on 8 consecutive victories in all competitions. The Blues even finished at the top of the C4 championship phase by largely dominating their opponents, of a completely different caliber it must be admitted.

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Proof of this is that the players registered for the European Cup were radically different from those focused on the Premier League. If Chelsea are aiming for final victory in this Europa Conference League where they appear to be the overwhelming favorite, it is the championship and qualification for the Champions League next year which are favored. Winner in 2021, then quarter-finalist in 2022 and 2023, the English team has been absent from the star of European competitions for two seasons now.

Too many players, too many unhappy people

It's a stain when we've spent more than a billion on the transfer market since 2022 and the arrival of BlueCo. In mid-August, there were still 52 players under contract. The squad has been reduced all the same but some who did not find a way out this summer hardly play at all. We think of Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Deivid Washington and even young people. Not to mention the Mykhaïlo Mudryk case which is upsetting everyone, others, who benefit from more time, are still not satisfied with their situation, including certain summer recruits.

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This is the case of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (26 years old). According to the Daily Mailthe door will be open to him this winter. Enzo Maresca himself admitted this. “When the transfer window is open, unfortunately anything can happen. (…) The only thing I can say about Kiernan is that we are very satisfied with the way he works, with his performances. We don't want any of our players to leave, the problem is that sometimes the question is asked more of them, than if they say: “ok, I want to play more”.»

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall already wants to leave

“In this case, we're not going to say 'no, you have to stay'continues the Blues coach. It's a question of agreement between the club and the player, the only thing I can say is that we are happy with Kiernan, then we will see. » The midfielder, recruited for €35 million from Leicester this summer, only played 55 minutes in the Premier League (15 appearances in all competitions, 2 goals and 1 assist). Overtaken in the hierarchy by Caicedo, Lavia and captain Fernandez, the player with more than 200 professional matches cannot spend too much time on the bench or in the stands. The solution of a departure, already, is therefore very real.