Chelsea prepared to sell Chilwell by the month-end
Chelsea star Ben Chilwell has been excluded out of Enzo Maresca’s plans with the manager explicitly stating that it would be better for the left-back to leave the club if he were looking for regular minutes.
Marc Cucurella is set to be counted on as the primary option after his triumphant Euro 2024 campaign with Spain. The former Barcelona star featured in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend, while there was no sign of Chilwell even on the bench.
Football Insider has reported that the Blues are ready to accept a ‘significant’ offer to get rid of the 27-year-old before the end of the transfer window. The exact figure the board is looking for his sale is yet to be known, though they will look to reclaim as much of the £45 million they spent on his signing from Leicester City.
There has also been no enquiry so far for Chilwell, however, Metro has claimed that Manchester United could very well be his next destination owing to both, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, struggling with injuries for over a year.
A number of Premier League clubs including West Ham, who have undergone a solid rebuild over the course of the summer, has been mooted too, as has a return to Leicester City, from whom Chilwell joined Chelsea in 2020.
The defender’s injury issues made it difficult for him to challenge Cucurella for a starring role in the squad and cement a role in the starting eleven. He was a superb defender while at the King Power Stadium and showed glimpses of his potential in west London too by being a crucial part of the team that won the Champions League in 2020/21, his debut season at the club.
It does look like Chilwell will continue to ply his trade in the Premier League itself. It is fair to say that he deserved a better ending at Chelsea than for Maresca to bluntly discount him from his plans, but with the best years of his career still to come, the English international will be determined to turn his situation over the next few years.
