£80m Chelsea star tells agents to find him new club after becoming “unhappy”

Chelsea chiefs need to orchestrate more player exit deals before deadline day on September 1, and there are a plethora of squad members who could be sold.

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Enzo Maresca means business this summer.

Enzo Maresca faces the prospect of being unable to register new signings in his Champions League squad next season if Chelsea don’t balance their books by trimming the squad.

This is due to a settlement with UEFA after they were fined for breaking FFP rules (Kaveh Solhekol), even if they’re in good financial stead right now when it comes to the Premier League’s separate PSR laws.

Chelsea banked a seismic £87.5 million for winning the Club World Cup and have made around £100 million in player sales already, following the departures of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Djordje Petrovic and Mathis Amougou.

However, pressure from UEFA lingers, and a host of unwanted players remain on the Chelsea books with just weeks to go before deadline day.

Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu, Armando Broja, Tosin Adarabioyo, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, João Félix and Alfie Gilchrist have all been linked with the exit door this window, with progress now being made on shipping out a couple of them.

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Felix is in talks over a return to boyhood club Benfica, while RB Leipzig have opened negotiations for Chukwuemeka as Chelsea try to sign their playmaker, Xavi Simons, in a separate deal (Florian Plettenberg).

According to journalist Simon Phillips, striker Nicolas Jackson is another realistic, high-profile sacrifice, as the Senegalese makes a push to leave behind-the-scenes.

Nicolas Jackson tells agents to seal Chelsea exit this summer

As per the reporter, via his Substack, Jackson has instructed his agents to find him a new club.

“Jackson became frustrated and unhappy at Chelsea last season initially due to the abuse and what he felt was over criticism from some of the fan base,” wrote Phillips.

“Jackson is concerned about his game time and would ideally want to move on from the club this summer.

“It is true that he would also be content to stay if there are no chances to leave, but it is his preference to leave the club, and as our man Danny Windsor has reported on his new platform The Blues Feed, Jackson has his agents working on moves to get him out of Chelsea this summer by offering him around to clubs.

“He is keen on a move to Manchester United but so far it’s only been agent talks and United have not yet indicated that they will make a move to sign him. They are interested though but have other targets ahead of him for now.

“Jackson knows that Chelsea have a high valuation on his head, and he is not exactly actively asking to leave. But his preference is to move on.”

The former Villarreal star bagged 13 goals and six assists in all competitions last term, with pundit Joe Cole even calling him one of Chelsea’s “most important” players.

However, Jackson is now set to compete with both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap for a place in Maresca’s starting line-up, and he didn’t exactly have the best end to 2024/2025.

The 24-year-old scored just one Premier League goal after the turn of 2025, and despite getting on the scoresheet in their Conference League final win over Real Betis, Jackson was sent off at the Club World Cup – playing just 30 minutes of the competition thereafter.

It could be time for a new chapter, and Man United seem like the ideal landing spot with their big-name status, not to mention Ruben Amorim’s glaring need for a striker.

However, the price for Jackson is a minimum £80 million (Sky Sports), so it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils will pay it.