Chelsea are the team that can appear in the Champions League next season, highlighting how impressive Enzo Maresca was in his first year in charge.
Italians can grab the reins in the summer and win a trophy before the end of the campaign, based on the work Mauricio Pockettino did before the season.
The Blues remain in the Europa Congress League and faces a quarter-final clash with Legia Warsaw, in order to get one step closer to the 45-year-old maiden trophy.
However, they have faced several struggles in recent weeks, losing three of their last five Premier League outings and needing a response to maintain their top four status after an international break.
Regardless of what has been achieved between the end of this season and the end of the season, two players may move on to the next opportunity after not making a positive impression in the last few months.
Why were Sanchez and Nkank able to leave Chelsea this summer?
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was often Maresca’s number one choice between the sticks, but even if he’s not wrong, it often leads to questions about his choice.
The Spaniard cost £25 million from Brighton in the summer of 2023, but he made five errors, leading to goals. This is most of the department’s keepers, and many supporters have expressed their dissatisfaction.
On the other end of the pitch, striker Christopher Nukank wasn’t in line with the expectations he was placed on after a £52 million move the same summer.
The Frenchman scored only three league goals in 2024/25, but the hierarchy may want to acquire his services in the summer amid interest from elsewhere in January.
With the aforementioned pair likely to play away from Stamford Bridge next season, the manager could also offload one player who failed to deliver when he had the opportunity to shine.
Players Chelsea need to sell in the summer
The summer of 2024 was Maresca’s first opportunity to try and challenge the league and European success, wanting to put his own spin on the Chelsea side.
Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto both arrived in west London, taking on depth in the final third, the latter costing £54 million from Wolverhampton Wanderers on the Premier League side.
Midfielder Keenan Dewsbury Hall also moved to the club, following the Italians who left Leicester City after completing the promotion with the fox at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
The 26-year-old’s cost in the £30 million region over the summer didn’t give the impression they would expect from players who participated at such a large fee.
He has only featured nine times in the league so far, but only one of them has come from his first role – he has to settle for a few minutes in an impressive conference league, but he still struggles to stake his claims for a regular starting position.
Dewsbury-Hall managed to find the net on his last European outing, but still, it wasn’t enough to break into Maresca’s plans.
However, he was interested in the winter window after no impact in West London, and the club could have wanted to win cash on him after a recent lack of action.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s PL Stats for Chelsea (2024/25) | |
|---|---|
Statistics (per 90) | totalling |
The game has been played | 9 |
Goals and Assistance | 1 |
Accuracy | 87% |
Possibility of being created | 0.8 |
Dribbling success | 33% |
The duel won | 44% |
Faulted foul | 1.5 |
Statistics via FOTMOB | |
His statistics from the league in this campaign highlight how disappointed he has been over the past few months.
Dewsbury-Hall has quality, but he is unable to extract it on the bridge and Maresca had to cut off his loss with the former Leicester ace in the summer.
The club’s massive spending ended up failing many players to deliver, and the 26-year-old had to acquire cash for additional investments elsewhere in one of the worst businesses that have been made recently.
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