Chelsea shrink asking price for star linked with Barcelona and Prem rivals as second obstacle emerges

Chelsea are stepping up their efforts to sell midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, but face a couple of hurdles – one of which has forced them to change their approach to his exit, according to a report.

Chukwuemeka hasn’t kicked on in the way Chelsea would have hoped when they signed him from Aston Villa in 2022. Admittedly he is still only 20 years old, but just two goals from 27 appearances have been the paltry rewards for Chelsea’s investment so far.

Trimming their squad size is an absolute priority for Chelsea right now, which has put an underperforming player like Chukwuemeka at risk. Earlier this month, he was linked with Barcelona and Crystal Palace.

Staying in the Premier League with Palace seems the more likely option, especially when taking into account the latest update about the Austrian-born England youth international.

According to The Sun, financial issues are proving to be a hurdle both in terms of Chelsea selling Chukwuemeka and him accepting a contract with another club.

The first part is something Chelsea can control. The report claims they are ready to accept bids lower than the original £40m asking price they had set.

But while they have dropped their demands for Chukwuemeka’s transfer fee, there is little they can do about what he wants as personal terms wherever he goes.

With Chukwuemeka currently earning £115,000 per week, The Sun claims his wage demands may deter his suitors – unless Chelsea offer to still cover a portion.

Coupled with the prospect of accepting a reduced bid – even though they still might make a profit – it would be far from an ideal situation for Chelsea financially.

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But they aren’t getting much value for money out of Chukwuemeka at the moment, largely due to the injury issues he has struggled with since signing for the club.

During his debut season at Chelsea, he missed four games with a hamstring problem, and then last season, he struggled with knee and ankle injuries.

Chukwuemeka is still under contract with Chelsea until 2028, but like any of their fringe players, must be fearing for his gametime due to the sheer size of their squad at present.

It’s reasonable to assume that, if everyone was fit, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and new signings Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall would be above Chukwuemeka in Enzo Maresca’s hierarchy of central midfield options.

One player who will be vacating that department – after Lesley Ugochukwu, who has been loaned to Lavia’s former club Southampton – is Conor Gallagher, who is set to sign for Atletico Madrid in a move that will see attacker Joao Felix return to Stamford Bridge in the opposite direction.

Chelsea’s lack of experience questioned

As Chelsea’s extreme evolution of their squad continues, there have been critics of their decision making.

One of the latest to speak out against the way they have been doing business is Emmanuel Petit, who ended his career at Chelsea back in 2004.

According to Petit, Chelsea have done no favours to the plethora of young prospects they have brought in – such as, indeed, Chukwuemeka – by failing to place them in a squad with experienced reference points.

Petit told Get French Football News: “I think they are lacking experience at the minute. Especially, in the big big positions in the team. They lack experienced players.

“They bought so many young players, and they have so many players, sometimes I have the feeling they are trying to do what they do in American sports. This is not American sports, this is European football.

“You need consistency with your players. When you buy so many players, it brings confusion to the minds of players. The fact you don’t have big big experienced players to protect the younger players causes troubles. I don’t get it.”

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