Following more heavy recruitment, Chelsea must now trim down their squad and offload as many as seven first-team players.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes the Blues must clear out their ‘bloated squad’.
Following the recent arrival of Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth a whopping €100m, Chelsea boasts plenty of attackers, but according to Collymore, not all are worth keeping around.
Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea, here we go! Documents are being exchanged between Chelsea and Shakhtar. Deal will cost €100m package as Ukrainian club always wanted. ?? #CFC
Mudryk, arriving in London tonight.
Medical tests booked on Sunday then he will sign contract until 2030. pic.twitter.com/mVxODeLYqn
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 14, 2023
With the likes of Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic all capable of playing in the same position as Mudryk, it seems very unlikely the trio will be content with a place on Graham Potter’s bench.
READ MORE: “Outrageous pace” – Collymore compares Mudryk to five-time UCL winner
“The Blues have so many players, particularly in attack, that Graham Potter must now trim it down and work out who he wants to keep but more importantly, who wants to stay and be part of the club’s future,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“Potter then has to figure out which of those players can operate in his system and then the club has to decide which ones to send out on loan and get some decent fees for and which ones are surplus to requirements and obviously then try and sell them.”
Going on to highlight midfielder Conor Gallagher as a player the Londoners should part ways with, Collymore believes the 22-year-old is the perfect candidate to be sold, due to the amount of interest clubs will show in him.
It isn’t just Gallagher that Collymore thinks should be sold though. The ex-Red has picked out another six first-team players to complete what would be a huge squad clear-out.
“In terms of players leaving, they’ll want to keep a large chunk of their homegrown British players but Conor Gallagher is one I can see being moved on,” he added.
“If it were up to me, I’d let him go, either out on loan or permanently. He’s a player they could get a really good fee for and they’d not be short of suitors. The likes of Everton, Aston Villa, and maybe even Newcastle United, would all probably be interested.
“As for Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, Joringho, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang though – I’d be looking to get rid of all of those as soon as possible. The three I’m not sure of are Marc Cucurella, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech. Maybe give them another 12 months to prove their worth and then look at it again. I haven’t been overly impressed with any of them though.”