Graham Potter's troubles at Chelsea could lead to a homegrown exodus this summer.
Chelsea face a major transfer dilemma over Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as the England stars prepare to enter the final year of their contracts at the end of this season.
Blues midfielder Connor Gallagher, 23, could also be a target for Premier League rivals with Chelsea facing the real prospect of having to sell to balance the books this summer.
Chelsea now need a miracle to finish in the top four and regain their place in next season’s Champions League. And they are now closer to the relegation zone than the top four and, while the drop in finances between the Champions League and Europa League is not a disaster, their current form means they will struggle to get into Europe next season.
That means, after an incredible spending spree under new owner Todd Boehly, they are almost certain to have to offload players this summer to fall into line with strict Financial Fair Play rules.
Clubs get more relief from selling home grown players compared to foreign signings who eat into the FFP allowance.
Liverpool are very keen on England star Mount as Jurgen Klopp plans a major overhaul of his playing squad at Anfield this summer. Mount, 24, will have no shortage of suitors but Liverpool appear to be in pole position and, even though Chelsea have not given up on keeping him, they may struggle to match the wages being offered elsewhere.
Chelsea have undergone an overhaul of their wage structure as they now offer longer contracts but on less basic terms which has helped them sign big deals like Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk for mega fees but still fall into line with FFP.
But that may be a drawback when it comes to being able to keep players who can see exiting team mates on bigger money at Stamford Bridge while they know they can also get more elsewhere.
Loftus-Cheek is a huge talent and his contract is also running down while there will be no shortage of takers for Gallagher who has two years left on his current deal.
Chelsea have been very clear that they want to stick with Potter, they even view his situation as similar to Mikel Arteta at Arsenal in that he will eventually turn results and their fortunes around.
But Chelsea’s disastrous form - just two wins in 15 games and scored just one goal in six games - has seen them slip out of contention and they are in serious danger of missing out on Europe.
Potter now faces huge back-to-back home games with Leeds and then Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League when they must get results with the fans getting increasingly frustrated.
