Petr Cech has admitted he ‘does not know’ whether Chelsea can keep players who are out of contract this summer. Sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich by the UK Government for his alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin means the Blues are operating in a state of limbo.
Matchday revenue, merchandise sales and transfer activity are forbidden while the oligarch remains the club's owner. This has seen club finances plunge into turmoil, with shirt sponsors Three demanding that Chelsea remove their logo from the team’s kit immediately after pulling the plug on a £40m-a-year deal.
Rival top-flight clubs will be ready to pounce like vultures if Chelsea can not extend players’ contracts. High-profile stars Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta risk leaving for nothing if the Blues are unable to offer them new deals.
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The former - valued by transfermarkt.com at £31.5million - is reportedly wanted by Newcastle to bolster their defensive ranks. Signing Rudiger would be a statement of intent by the new Saudi-backed regime and would be a crushing blow to Chelsea, who would be losing one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Former goalkeeper Cech - now technical and performance advisor at Stamford Bridge - is concerned about the future and is calling for clarity from the government.
"That is something we do not know at the moment, and that is why the conversations are going on," he told Sky Sports. "We would like to know these answers as soon as possible so we know how we can operate with the team going forward.
"Unfortunately, as I already said, we go day by day and need to, at the moment, listen to the advice given to us by the government."
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