Enzo Maresca has a huge squad at Chelsea, but for various reasons he can’t keep everyone. Here, we identify six players potentially worth a look by other Premier League teams.
Chelsea can’t be accused of leaving any stones unturned. Once again, they’re having a very busy summer transfer window, which has become a feature since Todd Boehly and his Clearlake consortium took charge in 2022.
Seven new players have arrived at Stamford Bridge since the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season. While several of those were via deals agreed prior to the summer, they still count towards another influx. And the indications are Chelsea are far from done, with Xavi Simons and Jorrel Hato seemingly high on the club’s agenda, while they reportedly want to add another wide attacker.
However, this year, there’s a greater need for Chelsea to sell players too. Their inability to comply with UEFA financial regulations saw them hit with fines potentially reaching £78.5m and administrative sanctions earlier this month.
While some of those sanctions won’t come into effect if they adhere to certain criteria, Chelsea will only be able to add players to their Champions League squad if their “List A transfer balance is positive”. As such, they’ve been required to sell players to partially fund this summer’s spending spree.
A few players have already secured them reasonable fees, but more sales are needed – especially if Chelsea want to keep getting their chequebook out for new first-team arrivals. That means there’s potentially some value to be found in the Blues’ squad for other teams.
Christopher Nkunku
France international Christopher Nkunku arrived at Chelsea with a big reputation after developing into one of the best forwards in the Bundesliga at RB Leipzig.
He moved to the German club having previously been more of a midfielder at Paris Saint-Germain, but he found his niche in his third season at Leipzig as he emerged as a reliable goalscorer.
Chelsea were deemed to have pulled off a coup in securing his arrival. Unfortunately, however, he suffered a serious knee injury in his first pre-season at Chelsea, derailing him before he ever got going.
Unsurprisingly, he struggled to get up to speed in that first season after his return, making just two Premier League starts. He would have hoped to make more of an impact in 2024-25, but only nine of his 27 league appearances were in the starting XI.
In the right surroundings, however, he can clearly offer a lot.
Across his third and fourth seasons at Leipzig, Nkunku scored 36 Bundesliga goals and set up another 17. Although he performed a few different roles, he mostly led the line while popping up frequently on the left.
He overperformed in relation to his xG, though his 0.52 non-pen xG per 90 still reflected how impressive he was at getting into dangerous positions – and that was also evidenced by how many goals he set up.
Across all competitions, Nkunku recorded 81 goal involvements over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, a tally only five players (Kylian Mbappé – 110, Robert Lewandowski – 97, Erling Haaland – 97, Karim Benzema – 96, Mohamed Salah – 92) could better.
Now 27 and very much on the fringes at Chelsea, those prolific days at Leipzig feel like a lifetime ago. But a move might just reignite something if he can stay fit, and with less than a year until the next World Cup, there’s plenty of incentive to seek first-team football elsewhere.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Chelsea’s signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City last summer always looked a slightly peculiar transfer.
Sure, Dewsbury-Hall had caught the eye for Leicester when they were relegated in 2022-23 and impressed in the Championship as the Foxes went straight back up, but following his manager Enzo Maresca to Stamford Bridge seemed slightly out of left field.
He was used even more sporadically than Nkunku in the Premier League in 2024-25, with his 13 appearances (two starts) amounting to just 259 minutes on the pitch. Instead, he was reserved for Chelsea’s ultimately successful UEFA Conference League campaign, playing in all 15 matches.
While undoubtedly a good experience to play a crucial role in a trophy success, such a lack of domestic action was a clear sign of Dewsbury-Hall’s position way down the pecking order. Similarly, he played at least 15 minutes in just two of Chelsea’s seven matches en route to Club World Cup glory.
Dewsbury-Hall turns 27 in September, so he’s no longer an up-and-coming talent. And although a World Cup spot for next year would be unlikely wherever he’s playing in 2025-26, he’s certainly not going to achieve that if he isn’t playing.
His last season of regular top-flight football was 2022-23, and it was Dewsbury-Hall’s positivity and purpose that particularly caught the eye.
Among nominal central and defensive midfielders, he ranked joint ninth for the average distance he progressed the ball upfield per carry (5.7m) and 10th for progressive carries at least 10m in length on a per-90 basis (3.4).
Partly related to this, at least on a mentality level, his 1.5 open-play chances created per 90 was bettered by only six midfielders (900+ mins) and the majority of those were players who spent most of their time as number 10s.
The ability he had on the ball also translated into effective dribbling. He boasted a completion rate of 58.9% in 2022-23, which saw him rank sixth among nominal central/defensive midfielders.
A satisfying player to watch, Dewsbury-Hall feels wasted sat on Chelsea’s bench.
Axel Disasi
Axel Disasi joined Chelsea in 2023 after becoming one of the most sought-after players in Ligue 1 with Monaco. His form there earned him international recognition with France and saw the centre-back attract admiring glances from across Europe.
But the move to Chelsea hasn’t quite gone to plan. How much can be read into that on an individual level is unclear, because he was initially thrust into a team that was struggling to gel under a new head coach in Mauricio Pochettino.
But he lost his place in the team after Maresca replaced Pochettino. Disasi then made more appearances in the Conference League than the Premier League during the first half of 2024-25, before being allowed to go on loan to Aston Villa, where he did enjoy more prominence without especially catching the eye.
A look back to his time at Monaco outlines the type of centre-back he became in Ligue 1, as he was known for his surging runs from the back and impressive physical attributes. The Opta Radar below provides a snapshot of his output in his final season at Monaco.
His first season at Chelsea also highlights a degree of progressiveness coupled with a reasonable physical output, as shown below.
An issue that hasn’t helped Disasi is the temptation to play him at full-back. Although he does possess good pace once he gets going, he’s not agile or dynamic enough to be a reliable option out wide, and that role arguably negates his best physical qualities, such as his strength in close quarters.
It feels like there’s more to come from Disasi, who has the potential to be a smart pick-up for another Premier League side.
Lesley Ugochukwu
The past two years have seen Lesley Ugochukwu stagnate somewhat. Having come through Rennes’ incredibly well-regarded academy at a similar time to Mathys Tel and Désiré Doué, he was very highly rated, albeit inexperienced.
A smattering of appearances – mostly substitute cameos – in his first campaign introduced him slowly to the rigours of Premier League football before spending 2024-25 on loan at Southampton.
Neither scenario can really be described as ideal for a developing youngster. At Chelsea, he was part of a bloated squad, then he found himself in one of the poorest sides the Premier League has ever seen.
As a result, it’s difficult to provide a fair assessment of his game with data from either his time at Chelsea or Southampton, though there were two metrics aligning with his strengths that he stood out in to a degree while at Saints.
Firstly, on average he progressed the ball 5.3 metres upfield for every ball carry, ranking 12th among 70 nominal central and defensive midfielders in the Premier League last term; this certainly evoked memories of his characteristic confidence on the ball from his days at Rennes.
Secondly, he won 59.4% of his ground duels in the top flight last term. That saw him rank third in the Southampton squad, but perhaps more instructive was that he was sixth among midfielders who were under the age of 24 when the 2024-25 season ended. Again, this was an aspect he stood out for at Rennes partly because of his physical stature.
Ugochukwu is an elegant midfielder who can also provide a physical edge. Still only 21, he is by no means a lost cause, and his potential is vast. For the moment, he doesn’t look to have a future at Chelsea, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t thrive elsewhere.
Carney Chukwuemeka
Genuine excitement swirled around Carney Chukwuemeka after his initial move from Aston Villa in August 2022.
Tall, technically gifted, quick and brave on the ball, he undoubtedly had a lot going for him, but he struggled to build on that early promise. After making 14 Premier League appearances in his first season, that dropped to nine in 2023-24, then he made none in the first half of 2024-25.
A loan move to Borussia Dortmund – something of a home away from home for young English talent in recent years – followed in February.
Some fitness issues troubled him early on at Dortmund, setting him back further. But he started to show flashes of his ability towards the end of the season, credited as a “game-changer” by BVB coach Niko Kovac in matches against Freiburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Dortmund ended up passing on the option to sign him permanently but are apparently interested in taking him on loan again, while some reports indicate he could go to RB Leipzig as part of a deal that would see Xavi Simons join Chelsea.
It’s difficult to see him carving out a future now at Stamford Bridge, but he’s still only 21 and appears to have a high ceiling that could be reached elsewhere.
Nicolas Jackson
Granted, Nicolas Jackson is probably the least likely to leave among the players on this list. Although there are definitely concerns about elements of his game, the Senegal international has been a relatively important player in each of his two seasons at the club.
He’s also clearly got plenty of ability, and still only 23, there’s no reason why he can’t continue to iron out the issues in his game.
But you certainly don’t get the impression that he’s untouchable. Chelsea would almost certainly be able to make a profit on their initial outlay of a reported £32m, which could be an attractive opportunity considering the need to balance outgoings related their UEFA List A.
Manchester United have been most heavily linked, potentially as part of a deal that sees Alejandro Garnacho go the other way, though Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham and Fulham have all been mentioned as interested parties too.
Jackson is an all-action forward. Among nominal centre-forwards in 2024-25 (900+ mins), he ranked sixth for off-ball runs per 90 (25.8) and fourth for pressures in the final third per 90 (31.4) while also being a reliable threat in the box; his average of 0.5 non-penalty expected goals per 90 put him joint fifth among all forwards (900+ mins).
Of course, the issue is that over the past two seasons, only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (-10.1) has underperformed in relation to non-pen xG to a greater extent than Jackson (-7.0). So, while he reliably gets into good positions, he is wasteful when it comes to actually capitalising on the chances he gets.
Expecting him to improve in that respect would be a gamble, but he’s a better all-round player than many give him credit for.
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