Chelsea have reportedly put five regular first-team players available for transfer for the right price this summer.
The Blues’ misery under Graham Potter continued on Saturday afternoon, as the Premier League’s basement side Southampton won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to James Ward-Prowse’s free kick.
Despite splashing the cash on a multitude of big-money signings in January, Potter has not inspired a turnaround in fortunes, and his side are languishing in 10th in the Premier League table as a result.
Chelsea have now failed to win any of their last five games in all tournaments, and they have just one victory to their name from 10 matches since the turn of the year.
The Blues are also facing a last-16 exit from the Champions League following a 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in Wednesday’s first leg, with the German side set to visit Stamford Bridge for the second leg on March 7.
According to Football Insider, Chelsea have now identified a quintet of players who they are willing to entertain offers for, including academy product Mason Mount.
Little progress has been made in negotiations to tie the England midfielder down to a new contract, and he will become a free agent at the end of next season as things stand.
Mount – who played just 64 minutes of Saturday’s game – is believed to be admired by Manchester United and Liverpool, and Chelsea are expected to sell him this summer if he does not pen fresh terms.
Out-of-favour striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also expected to be heading for the exit door at the end of the season, having recently been frozen out of the group under Potter.
The former Arsenal man was left out of the Blues’ Champions League squad for the knockout stages and has also been cut from the ranks for each of their last three Premier League matches.
As is the case with Mount, Aubameyang’s contract at Stamford Bridge only runs until 2024, and he has just three goals to show from 17 appearances at the club since arriving from Barcelona.
In addition, Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher are also viewed as expendable assets by Chelsea, who were on the verge of offloading the former to Paris Saint-Germain on loan in January.
However, after Ziyech had already landed in Paris, Chelsea did not send over the right documents in time and the deal collapsed – much to the chagrin of the French champions, who unsuccessfully appealed the failed move to the LFP. —Reuters
