CHELSEA have some players on their books who won’t be getting much game time this season.
And shifting some more players ahead of the transfer deadline could fund more potential transfers.
The Blues have proven this summer that they’re quite good at shifting dead wood to then bolster their first team.
Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Davide Zappacosta, Victor Moses and Olivier Grioud left the club, recouping £74.8million.
That helped Chelsea buy back Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5m, making their net spend just £26.6m.
Chelsea have been linked with a move for West Ham’s Declan Rice recently.
But the Hammers are asking for a fee close to £100m, way above what clubs are willing to pay.
Who could make way to fund future Chelsea transfers and where could they go?
BETTING SPECIAL – GET £50 IN FREE BETS WITH WILLIAM HILL
Danny Drinkwater
Danny Drinkwater left Leicester City – where he won the Premier League in the 15/16 season – for Chelsea back in 2017.
The Blues paid a whopping £34.1million, but he only went on to make 23 appearances for the club in four years.
The 31-year-old went on three loan spells to Burnley, Aston Villa and Kasimpasa respectively in an effort to reignite his career, but he failed to do so.
His contract expires in the summer of 2022 and is free to negotiate a pre-contract from January.
No clubs have registered an interest in Drinkwater – who is on a reported £120,000-a-week – this summer.
Ross Barkley
Former England international Ross Barkley, similar to Drinkwater, made the move to Chelsea hoping to boost his career.
Barkley switched Merseyside for west London when he left Everton back in 2018 for £22.5m.
But he failed to stamp down a first team place, leading him to fall out of Gareth Southgate’s England plans.
He spent last season on loan at Aston Villa and it started off promising, but his performances significantly dropped off in the second half of the season.
Barkley could, however, be handed a lifeline with his former boss David Moyes interested in signing him at West Ham, according to the Telegraph.
The Hammers have been actively searching for a Jesse Lingard replacement – who scored nine and provided five assists in the second half of last season whilst on loan – and could move for Barkley.
Kurt Zouma
The French defender has been at Chelsea for seven years.
But has spent several seasons out on loan since making the switch from Saint-Etienne for £13.1m.
Zouma spent a season back on loan at Saint-Etienne, followed by spells at Stoke City and Everton.
The France international has always been highly rated, but seems to find himself down the pecking order.
Chelsea want to bring in Jules Kounde – fellow France international – from Sevilla, but need to sell Zouma to follow through with the deal.
And luckily for Chelsea, West Ham have had a bid accepted for Zouma worth £25m.
He is set to double, if not triple his current wages making him the Hammers’ highest earner.
He is reportedly having a medical in France on Friday.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa joined Chelsea back in 2018 for a then club record fee of £71.6m.
But continuous mistakes saw him fall out of favour and lose the trust of his managers.
Edouard Mendy was consequently brought in last season for considerably cheaper and manned the sticks in Chelsea’s Champions League triumph last season.
Kepa did, however, get some redemption in the Super Cup as he saved two in the penalty shootout against Villarreal to win Chelsea’s second European title in a matter of months.
If Kepa was to move on in search of first team football, it is unlikely he will be able to recoup a majority of his original transfer fee.
But Spain would be the best bet as a likely destination.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
The Frenchman, much like most already mentioned, joined Chelsea for big money but failed to make an impact.
Bakayoko joined the Blues from Monaco back in 2017 for £36m.
But struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, leading to him being shipped out on multiple loan spells.
Bakayoko has spent seasons on loan in both France and Italy respectively.
His most successful spell coming at Napoli last season.
But he appears to be heading to AC Milan on a two-year loan, according to Goal.
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN NEW CUSTOMER DEALS
Read our Transfer news live blog for the very latest rumours, gossip and done deals
