Selling is as important as buying for Chelsea under new ownership this summer. The use of the word rebuild should not only refer to the out-of-contract names leaving but also to others whose time at Stamford Bridge should end in 2022.
Chelsea have been putting off this grand project for several years, and now they have little choice as the defensive situation has forced the club's hand. On top of that, other areas need revamping as a lack of consistent output compared with what the club is paying for players' services needs an honest conversation.
One of the names touted as a potential sale in the coming months is Timo Werner, who has struggled greatly since his 2020 move from RB Leipzig for £47m.
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With Chelsea's intention under new ownership to invest properly into Thomas Tuchel's squad for next season, the idea of new attacking additions are already on the menu, with a host of names across Europe being linked.
But any potential incoming will have to coincide with at least one departure in an already bloated attacking area that has over £300m worth of investment since 2019. The lack of productivity has prompted a serious inquest, and Werner's 10 Premier League goals in 56 appearances are well short of the expectation when he arrived.
A swift return back to Germany has been hinted at for several months, with Borussia Dortmund appearing a clear favourite for the forward. However, as per Goal's latest report, Dortmund has apparently gone cold on investing in the Blues' fourth-highest paid player at around £275,000-a-week.
The same report that links Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku with Chelsea, states that Cobham star Armando Broja could raise funds with West Ham, Newcastle, Southampton, Inter, AC Milan and Napoli all interested, with a starting price of £25m apparently enough to trigger a conversation over a deal.
Chelsea supporters will hear the struggles to offload unwanted senior players, but an openness to cash in on academy talent and think back to last summer's youth exodus, that in the end raised close to £90m in player sales with Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi all going for over £20m.
Todd Boehly will want to get off on the right foot, and another summer of young talent departing whilst underperforming attackers remain will sour the mood quickly. Werner, like many of Chelsea's other attackers, have failed to deliver enough output to justify persisting with and holding to them much longer could threaten to lessen their value even further whilst blocking the chance to invest elsewhere.
The trend of cashing in on academy talent needs to be halted, and more brutal decisions over struggling first-teamers should be a clear priority. Even in the short term, there may be a financial loss if you do not receive the dream fee.
