Exits being sanctioned at Stamford Bridge look set to more important for Mauricio Pochettino than any other Chelsea priority this summer. That is because the Blues have an extremely bloated squad which will only become bigger once several stars return from loan spells away from west London, with two arrivals also having already been sealed.
Including loans in, there are 27 members considered to be part of Chelsea's senior squad and with a further eight stars set to return from loan stints, before any sales are confirmed, there will be 35 players in the first-team picture.
Denis Zakaria and Joao Felix will likely both return to their parent clubs, although there is some hope that Felix will seal a permanent return, but if that does not happen those two vacated spaces in the squad will be filled by Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku. To put it lightly, Pochettino has one heck of a job on his hands to sanction exits and do so quickly in order to meet an FFP deadline on June 30.
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Before the opening of the summer window, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are the two who look the closest to leaving the club, with the latter in positive talks to follow in the footsteps of Fikayo Tomori. AC Milan are the club pushing to sign Loftus-Cheek with football.london reporting in April that the Italian club had made contact with Chelsea over a potential summer move.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now claimed that negotiations between the two parties are progressing well and Loftus-Cheek is also keen on the move. Mount meanwhile, looks set to leave his boyhood club and join one of Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester United, with the latter his preferable destination, according to the Athletic.
However, it could instead be Hakim Ziyech to first seal a move away from Chelsea this summer. The Morocco international thought a loan switch to Paris Saint-Germain had been completed in January only to discover the move had fallen apart at the eleventh hour.
Since that incident occurred, Ziyech has found minutes hard to come by but he was handed an eight-minute cameo off the bench by Frank Lampard against Manchester United. Following the 4-1 defeat, Ziyech was spotted chatting to United boss Erik ten Hag, with the duo knowing each other because of their respective spells at Ajax.
When asked about the details of their conversation, ten Hag remained coy but did deliver a major hint on Ziyech's future at Chelsea. As quoted by Mail Sport, ten Hag said: "That's between Hakim and me. We have experienced a lot together, beautiful things.
He added; There is a bond for life. He has to play every week. A footballer like that, in the prime of his life, must be on the pitch."
Ziyech, who is valued at £15.6m on transfermarkt, is expected to be one of many Chelsea stars up for sale this summer, and while United have shown a previous interest in the 30-year-old, a move to Old Trafford in the next transfer window is unlikely.
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