17 January 2025

since Chelsea The new owners took over in 2022, and one thing that has been at the forefront of their business is reducing the wage bill and implementing a more structured approach within the department. This was achieved largely during his few years in power.

In the 2022/23 season, the Blues had seven earners earning more than £200,000 per week, and that's not including loan players like Romelu Lukaku, who also had huge wages. Their total gross wages per week were approx £4.3 million at the time.

Chelsea's top ten list for the 2024/25 season

player

Wage (£)

Reece James

£250,000

Ben Chilwell

£200,000

Wesley Fofana

200,000 pounds sterling

Christopher Nkunku

£195,000

Enzo Fernandez

£180,000

Mark Cucurella

£175,000

Raheem Sterling

£162,500

Pedro Neto

£160,000

Moises Caicedo

£150,000

Cole Palmer

£130,000

Its source Kapology.

Fast forward to the 2024/25 season, and Chelsea have managed to reduce that to £3,297,500 per weekwith more than £1 million deducted from their weekly wage bill. This is taking into account that players such as Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling (out on loan) are still at the club, despite the managers' efforts to move them on in the summer.

While some of the club's top players such as Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer earn £150,000 or less per week, Chelsea's managers are looking to offload the last few high earners who are yet to start for the club, and that could continue with some exits this month. .

Players who could leave Chelsea this month

The two key players who are highly paid at the club but need to move are Sterling and Chilwell. While Sterling is currently on loan with Arsenal, it is unlikely that he will be called up, and so his future will be assessed and dealt with in the summer.

However, it is Chilwell who could leave the club this month. Having played just once this season for the Bluescoming off the bench against Barrow in the UEFA Cup for 45 minutes. The 28-year-old still has plenty of suitors, e.g West Ham United But his high wages could be a stumbling block.

Barrow's Dean Campbell in a match with Chelsea's Ben Chilwell

Another Chelsea star who could be on his way out this month is Axel Disasi, who was only signed in the 2023 summer window, joining the club from Monaco for a while. A fee of around £38.8m. Since his arrival, the 26-year-old has done just that 60 matches with the clubHe scored five goals, provided two assists, and totaled 4,961 minutes played.

The Frenchman was a starter under Mauricio Pochettino but found himself on the bench under new coach Enzo Maresca, with a difference in style that doesn't really suit the defender. Last season, Chelsea were defending their own penalty area more often and the centre-backs had less responsibility to handle the ball when building from the back.

Under Maresca, Chelsea began to form a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, then switched to a 3-2-5 with the ball, with the back three responsible for distributing the ball and finding passes to break the line. In midfield and attacking players. They are also expected to defend higher up in a man-to-man style, away from their own penalty area, which does not suit Disasi's style of play.

The final player who could leave this month is Carne Chukwuemeka, who was also signed under the new ownership in their first window, joining from Aston Villa for a fee of About 20 million pounds sterling. He is only 21 years old He has only managed to appear in five matches so far this season.

Chelsea player Carne Chukwuemeka in action

Chukwuemeka's talent levels are clear, which is why a loan could be the best move for him to show that with consistent minutes before Chelsea make their final decision on whether to sell him permanently or give him a bigger chance initially. -a team.

But, there is another person who simply needs to leave Stamford Bridge for the sake of his career…

Why should Christopher Nkunku leave Chelsea?

One of the main links that came up last week is there Nkunku's future is at the clubwho is now linked with a move to Bayern Munich. The player is said to be keen on a move to Germany, where he is looking to play more minutes.

The 27-year-old has been criticized Jamie O'Hara's “Moan” this seasonas he was excluded from the starting lineup in place of Nicholas Jackson and Cole Palmer. Despite Nkunku's impressive goalscoring record, with 13 goals this season in 28 appearances, many of his contributions have come in the UEFA Conference League, which is largely viewed as a weaker competition, which has inflated his production.

Comparison between Nkunku and Jackson

Statistics (per 90 minutes)

Nkunku

Jackson

Objectives

0.87

0.53

Helps

0.29

0.23

xG

0.95

0.63

xAG

0.26

0.15

Holds progressivism

2.18

2.22

Progressive passes

3.45

1.40

Total shots

3.19

3.33

Goals / Shot

0.23

0.16

Key passes

1.61

1.11

Snapshot creation procedures

4.14

3.16

He won aerial duels

1.03

0.58

Statistics taken from FBref

the £52m forward He found himself playing as a reserve striker in Maresca's system, being moved away from his preferred attacking midfield position by Palmer and Joao Felix. When you compare Nkunku (as a striker) to Jackson, you can see that they both want to contribute to the build-up, dropping deep to connect the play.

This often means that when Maresca feels the need to change the tempo of the game through substitutions, he is unable to do so because both striker options offer similar attributes to the team. With Nkunku being a reserve in both areas, it would be smart to move him and replace him with another striker, one who offers something different to the squad.

nkunku-chelsea

One player mentioned in Nkunku's deal with Bayern Munich Is Matisse a phonebut like Jackson, he offers similar traits in terms of contributing at all stages. Another name that could provide a bit more box presence and more of a bully profile is Liam DelapBut a move for Nkunku will be a big part of any work Chelsea can do at the top of the pitch during this window.

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