A £175,000-per-week Chelsea mainstay is no longer part of the club’s long-term plans, despite him starting every single Premier League game under new head coach Enzo Maresca so far.
Players who could leave Chelsea in January or next summer
Maresca has already shown that he’s not afraid to be ruthless in axing players he’s deemed surplus to requirements, no matter their profile.
Maresca was up front to the press about England international duo Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell over the summer transfer window, admitting at the time that they may be forced to find a new club, as their game-time would be limited under him.
“Brutal? I don’t think so. I try to be honest,” said Maresca on Sterling and Chilwell’s futures at Chelsea in August.
“I can repeat again if it’s not clear: I spoke with Raheem before the City game. I said he is going to struggle to get minutes with us and this is the reason why he is out of the squad. With Chilly, I said he is a lovely guy, but he is going to struggle because of his position. He is going to struggle. If you define this as brutal, it’s up to you to decide. For me, it’s not brutal, it’s just honest.”
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Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Nottingham Forest (home) |
October 6 |
|
Liverpool (away) |
October 20 |
|
Newcastle (home) |
October 27 |
|
Man United (away) |
November 3 |
|
Arsenal (home) |
November 10 |
Since then, Sterling has sealed a season-long loan move to Arsenal, with Chilwell still at Chelsea but likely to leave in January. Elsewhere in the squad, a trio of other players have been linked with the Stamford Bridge exit door in 2025.
Chelsea are ready to sell Benoit Badiashile, who is yet to make a single appearance this season, with fellow Frenchman Axel Disasi also not part of Maresca’s plans.
Mykhailo Mudryk could be forced to quit Chelsea in the winter too, as uncertainty surrounds the Ukraine star’s future and BlueCo weigh up potential replacements like Veliz Sarsfield winger Thiago Fernandez.
These names don’t come as much of a surprise given their lack of inclusion so far this season, but Chelsea have since adopted a head-turning stance on one of their mainstay players.
Marc Cucurella no longer part of Chelsea’s long-term plans
According to a report in The Boot Room this week, £175,000-per-week defender Marc Cucurella could be shown the door as well.
Indeed, it is believed Cucurella is no longer part of Chelsea’s long-term plans, with the indication being he could eventually be sold alongside the likes of Chilwell and Badiashile as Maresca’s side eye up a move for AC Milan star Theo Hernandez.
The Spain international, who impressed at Euro 2024 for the eventual champions, has started every single Premier League match so far and put in some solid displays at full-back in place of Chilwell.
This report therefore comes as quite a shock when factoring in just how often he’s been utilised by Maresca so far, not to mention how the Italian has praised his left-back as a key asset.
“Marc [Cucurella] is very important,” said Maresca on Cucurella very recently.
“Marc has something that you sometimes struggle to find in players. He is good and he is making the players around him good because he is a guy who is always talking, always demanding. If you can have five, six or seven players like Marc in your team, who are always talking about improving the rest, it’s very important. So I’m very happy with Marc.”
