Chelsea have endured one of their worst seasons in recent memory.
The Blues, owned by US billionaire Todd Boehly, have struggled competitively despite spending over £600m in the last two transfer windows (Transfermarkt).
Not only do the side sit inside the Premier League’s bottom half, but after exiting the FA and EFL Cup early, as well as recently being dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, the Londoners’ season is as good as over.
Consequently, with a bloated squad and the prospect of no European football next season, Boehly and his senior hierarchy are facing an important summer.
Although incomings cannot be ruled out, according to a recent report from the Evening Standard, the club’s priority, along with hiring a new permanent manager, will be to trim their bursting squad down.
As many as seven first-team players could be sold, including defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who only signed from Napoli last summer in a deal that, according to Football London, sees the Senegal international earn £160,000-per week.
Other players facing the axe are striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and midfielder quartets Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic.
Boehly, having experienced first-hand what major changes can do to a squad, will certainly approach this summer’s transfer window with a lot more caution than he did the last.