A £72 million Chelsea player could now reunite with former teammate and France star N'Golo Kante in Saudi Arabia, with Al-Ittihad plotting a surprise summer move for him.
Players who could be sold by Chelsea this summer
Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech, Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson and Ian Maatsen have already left Stamford Bridge, with four of the aforementioned five bringing in a combined total of around £84 million.
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While Silva re-joined boyhood club Fluminense for free after the expiry of his contract, Chelsea still stand to save some money by chalking off his £110,000-per-week wages. Ziyech, Hall, Hutchinson and Maatsen were all out of favour in west London, and move on to pastures new with the good grace of Todd Boehly, as the American balances Chelsea's books in a busy early summer.
Armando Broja, Malang Sarr, Romelu Lukaku, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, Mykhailo Mudryk and Conor Gallagher are other players who could be sold by Chelsea in the coming weeks, according to various reports.
Cole Palmer
7.48
Conor Gallagher
7.13
Nicolas Jackson
7.07
Moises Caicedo
6.85
Noni Madueke
6.84
There are high-profile players who co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley will be desperate to offload, with the main one being Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku. AC Milan and Napoli are frontrunners to sign Lukaku, with Chelsea demanding around £38 million to let him go.
Boehly is prepared to take a £60 million loss off Lukaku's sale, with the 31-year-old originally joining in a deal worth £98 million in 2021. Meanwhile, Chelsea are under pressure to do a deal for Gallagher, despite his importance under ex-boss Mauricio Pochettino last season.
The England star's has entered the final 12 months of his contract, so his boyhood status at the club may well be discounted as Boehly ponders the ruthless business decision of finding a buyer before Gallagher can leave for nothing.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who spent last season on loan at La Liga champions Real Madrid, is also being heavily linked with the exit door. The Spaniard has been tipped for sit-down talks with Enzo Mareca over his future recently, and it is believed Kepa is really wants to leave Chelsea on a permanent deal.
Al-Ittihad plot surprise move for Kepa who could leave Chelsea
According to TEAMtalk reporter Rudy Galetti, Al-Ittihad are planning a surprise move for Kepa this summer, who oould well reunite with Kante in the Gulf State.
The PIF-backed Saudi Pro League side are currently in talks with Athletico Paranaense keeper and Brazil international Bento, but if a deal falls through, Al-Ittihad will bid for Kepa as an alternative.
The 29-year-old joined Chelsea from Athletic Bilbao in a deal worth £72 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in history, but it hasn't exactly been plane sailing since his move to the Premier League.
On around £146,000-per-week in west London, the club would save a decent portion of cash by trimming Kepa's salary off the wage bill, but it is unclear just how much the Saudis are willing to pay for him.
