Chelsea have begun a £200million firesale after Conor Gallagher flew out to join Atletico Madrid.
It will spark a mass exodus from Stamford Bridge in the final ten days of the transfer window as Chelsea look to balance the books.
England midfielder Gallagher has agreed personal terms ahead of completing a £36m move to Atletico Madrid. And his departure could be quickly followed with potential exits for Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku and Armando Broja all available for transfer.
That comes on top of Portugal star Joao Felix joining Chelsea from Atletico Madrid and now there is a new pressure to get players out of the door.
Felix has agreed a six year contract with a one year option and will sign for £45m after opting to join Chelsea ahead of other interested clubs, including Aston Villa.
Chelsea have had a £26m offer from Napoli to take Lukaku on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy next summer.
Felix will also join on Chelsea’s model of an incentivised contract with a lower basic wage but big bonuses on appearances and success. He has backed himself to make a success of his Chelsea move and that vision has also been sold to Cole Palmer who has signed a nine year deal.
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The idea is to bring down the average basic wage through the squad and, while they do want to reduce numbers, they are adamant that by the end of the window the first team group will be realistic and not out of step with other clubs.
Chelsea do face a race to get deals done for Chilwell who may be allowed out on loan while the message is clear that Sterling can go. Broja will be allowed to leave for £30m while they also want to shift Kepa Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, Djorde Petrovic and Carney Chukwuemeka.
There have been discussions about Napoli striker Victor Osimhen but that looks like a long shot because Chelsea need to balance the books first.
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