Chelsea tell 14 to leave in brutal firesale as Barcelona make shock move for Blues winger and Shearer offers advice

Chelsea may well have signed nine players already this summer – with three more set to follow – but new boss Enzo Maresca is ready to get tough over his bloated squad and has reportedly now told 14 players they will be allowed to leave before the summer window closes and with Raheem Sterling likely to be the most high-profile exit amid fresh links to Barcelona.

The Blues have embarked on a quite phenomenal spending spree since Todd Boehly and his fellow BlueCo consortium members bought out Roman Abramovich’s shares in Chelsea two summers ago, bringing in 44 players to date and to the tune of some £1.2bn. However, they are far from finished yet this summer, with a tenth deal of the window now agreed to bring Joao Felix back to Stamford Bridge and with a Liverpool man slotted in to become signing No 11 of another extraordinary window.

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However, while three more deals this summer are likely to push their spending towards the £1.4bn barrier, what you don’t read quite so much about is their player sales, with the club raising a significant amount through departures and ensuring their actual net spend is not as bad as initially suggested.

Having a bloated squad is nothing new in the modern era at Cobham. Previous boss Graham Potter – the first appointment made by the Blues back in September 2022 – previously complained that training was near impossible to manage with several players left in limbo due to the sheer vastness of the Chelsea squad.

That sentiment has also been hinted upon by Maresca, who has made clear he wants to work with a smaller squad and that he wants some players sold before the window shuts.

Chelsea put 14 up for sale as first two exits close in

The first of those exits could arrive as soon as Tuesday, with Conor Gallagher agreeing to join Atletico Madrid. His transfer to the Spanish giants will be agreed separately to the deal that sees Felix return to Stamford Bridge, though both moves were dependent on one another owing to the finances of the Spanish side.

The England midfielder had been told he would only be a squad man under Maresca this season, effectively forcing his hand.

TEAMtalk has also been all over the news that another homegrown star in Trevoh Chalobah is being forced out, with the defender ditched unceremoneously from their squad to tour America this summer and with the player told in no uncertain terms that he will not be considered for selection.

Sources have informed us that Newcastle are considering a move for Chalobah if they don’t manage to agree a deal with Crystal Palace for former Chelsea defender Marc Guehi.

He will be joined out the Stamford Bridge exit door by Raheem Sterling, whose agent’s made clear their frustrations at seeing their client overlooked for the Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday.

Juventus have been linked with the winger in the last 24 hours, with the £47.5m signing from City two summers ago likely to become the most high-profile of their summer exits.

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Barcelona have also been linked with a move, according to the latest reports in Spain, with the LaLiga giants are also being tipped to move for another Blues star seemingly free to leave in Carney Chukwuemeka.

Blues clearout to see many massive names depart

The other 10 players we understand that are also on the chopping block are goalkeepers Djordje Petrovic and Kepa Arrizabalaga, both of whom are behind Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen in the pecking order.

Another big-money signing and England international, Ben Chilwell, is also up for sale, with Manchester City and Manchester United both among his suitors.

Academy product Bashir Humphreys will also be allowed to move on, with a permanent deal or even a season’s loan being considered.

In midfield, Cesare Casadei is up for sale, despite his time spent under Maresca at Leicester last season. The likes of Napoli and Roma have been linked with a move for the former Inter Milan man.

In attack, Tino Anjorin has been linked with a move to Championship new boys Portsmouth, while Brazil youth international Angelo Gabriel – highly-rated by coaches at Cobham – will be allowed to leave on a season’s loan. Besiktas are among those linked.

And with the Blues still hoping to secure the signing of Victor Osimhen from Napoli, Maresca has made it clear that strikers Armando Broja, Romelu Lukaku and David Datro Fofana will also be allowed to leave.

Alan Shearer gives thoughts on Raheem Sterling situation

The one prospective exit grabbing the headlines at present, though, is Sterling, with BBC pundit Alan Shearer offering his thoughts on both his situation and that of Chelsea’s bloated squad.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer claims Sterling has been told to find a new club.

“I’m told that he’s trained all pre-season and was told on Friday that he’s probably best off looking elsewhere for a club because they’ve brought other people in in that position,” the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer stated.

“As hard as that is and it will be for him because as far as I can remember he hasn’t been unprofessional at all at Chelsea.

“To have been told that on Friday, that would be pretty frustrating. Mark my words, this is not going to be the first case of player unrest at Chelsea.

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“Enzo Maresca is going to have to deal with problems like this all season.”

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards added: “I agree it will be frustrating but you can’t be putting statements out.

“It’s just created more chaos around the club. Chelsea are already having to deal with loads of off-field problems.

“Yes, he will be disappointed, but Raheem making it public has just made it harder for himself.

“And if he does play again for Chelsea and stay he’s just made it harder for himself because he’s going to have to play amazing now.”