As Chelsea's season comes to an end with just seven remaining fixtures until the end of 2022/23, it's clear attention within the Blues hierarchy will be elsewhere. The club have a new manager to appoint and with a senior squad of 31 names, there will be some trimming down to do to provide a new coach with a manageable group of players.
The west London side will hope to get business done quickly but will require willing suitors to come to quick agreements. A large group of players will be considered up for sale should agreements on new contracts not be made and substantial fees paid.
Since taking charge of the club, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have looked to tie players down to long contracts and see players reaching two years to go on their deals as a point at which decisions to extend or sell are required. First, however, players with just a single year on their deals must see their futures resolved.
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As it result, it is little wonder that Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic have been connected with Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively. football.london understands that Liverpool, who have also been linked to Conor Gallagher, have placed Mount among their priorities this summer.
Chelsea have yet to come close to an agreement to extend Mount's deal, while there appears to have been little movement at all to see Kovacic's stay at Stamford Bridge prolonged. Nevertheless, the Blues will not want to see either player depart cheaply.
Cies Football observatory values Mount at £62.5million and Kovacic at £22.3million. The Blues could even put a £70million price tag on the former.
Regardless, even with a degree of reluctance, Chelsea may have to accept Premier League rivals as the only clubs willing to meet prices at which they are willing to sell and that could extend across to players such as Ian Maatsen, Christian Pulisic and others.
The market could prove difficult for the Blues, with clubs being aware of Chelsea's pressure to trim numbers and also the potential of looming financial fair play pressure with no income to come from the Champions League next term.
While suitors may lie abroad there is no ignoring the comparative spending power of the Premier League. In January, 10 of the 11 biggest spending clubs were from the Premier League as the division, led by Chelsea, racked up a £736m bill, while the likes of La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A spent £28.4million, £59.4million and £27.5million, respectively.
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