Ruben Loftus-Cheek now looks to be the next Chelsea player out of the exit door with the Blues agreeing a deal - that will eventually rise to £18million - with AC Milan for the midfielder.
As reported by football.london on Tuesday afternoon, the 27-year-old is set to move to the San Siro on a permanent basis with the Milan-based outfit paying Chelsea £15 million up front and a further £3m in add-ons at a later date. Loftus-Cheek has 12 months remaining on his contract at Chelsea and the club placed him up for sale as he was not deemed part of their future plans.
There are a lot of players in the same boat. Whether it's in the final 12 months or two years of their deal, Chelsea are considering moving on a number of unwanted players.
Hakim Ziyech is close to moving to Al-Nassr to team up with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Chelsea winger, who has been at the club since signing from Ajax in the summer of 2020, wanted to leave Stamford Bridge in the January transfer window but a move to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed in its latter stages.
Now, though, Ziyech is set to call time on his three-year spell at Chelsea where he has struggled to show the sort of talent the club were expecting. The Blues are expected to pocket around £12m for Ziyech, 30, who featured just 18 times in the Premier League over the course of last season.
Another player set to switch England for Saudi Arabia is Edouard Mendy. The 31-year-old goalkeeper lost his place to Kepa Arrizabalaga after a poor start to the 2022/23 campaign and made just ten appearances in the Premier League.
READ MORE: Chelsea agree £18m transfer with AC Milan as Mauricio Pochettino continues clear out
With two years left to run on the Senegal international's contract in west London, Chelsea are open to selling the goalkeeper and are expected to receive around £16m from Al-Ahli for his services. football.london understands, also, if an offer deemed appropriate for Kepa Arrizabalaga came their way, then they would be open to allowing the Spaniard to leave, as long as a replacement was in place.
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz is on the brink of joining Arsenal for a deal worth up to £60m - with a further £5m add-ons bringing it up to £65m. The German international has already undergone a medical to join the Gunners after being convinced to join by Mikel Arteta.
Altogether, from the four aforementioned players, who all look to be departing in the coming days, Chelsea will receive way over £100m which will go some way in helping Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital balance their books. It will also spark their transfer action into life.
As widely reported, football.london understands Moises Caicedo from Brighton is the club's top midfield target this summer. The Ecuadorian midfielder has already verbally agreed personal terms with Chelsea but the Blues are yet to reach an agreement with Brighton over a fee for the 21-year-old.
The Seagulls are understood to be demanding around £80m for his signature but Chelsea do not want to match their asking price. Especially not in one go. There could be a case where Chelsea offer a lower amount up front and the rest would be totalled in add-ons and bonuses.
Either way, Brighton are notoriously tough and stubborn negotiators, so business will not be straightforward for Chelsea. But once some of the unwanted players are sold on, which was the main priority this summer, then the way they approach the transfer market could be vastly different to what we have seen so far.
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