Chelsea’s brilliance in selling surplus players yielded them a seismic near-£300 million before the summer window shut on September 1, but Raheem Sterling and his £325,000-per-week wages remain on the club’s books.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Mathis Amougou, Djordje Petrovic, João Félix, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja, Lesley Ugochukwu, Renato Veiga, Alfie Gilchrist, Carney Chukwuemeka, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson are the most noteworthy of BlueCo’s former names to be axed, with the latter expected to bring in £70 million once his move to Bayern Munich becomes permanent next year.
|
Chelsea’s summer transfers (permanent only) |
|
|---|---|
|
Incoming |
Outgoing |
|
Joao Pedro |
Noni Madueke |
|
Jamie Gittens |
João Félix |
|
Jorrel Hato |
Djordje Petrovic |
|
Liam Delap |
Lesley Ugochukwu |
|
Dario Essugo |
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall |
|
Mamadou Sarr |
Renato Veiga |
|
Estevao |
Armando Broja |
|
Kendry Paez |
Carney Chukwuemeka |
|
Alejandro Garnacho |
Mathis Amougou |
|
Basir Humphreys |
|
|
Kepa Arrizabalaga |
|
|
Marcus Bettinelli |
|
|
Christopher Nkunku |
|
|
Nicolas Jackson (obligation to buy) |
|
|
Alfie Gilchrist |
|
|
Lucas Bergstrom |
|
These exits have allowed Chelsea to register a £3 million profit for the summer, despite spending £285 million on incoming transfers (BBC), but Sterling, who is out of Enzo Maresca’s long-term plans, remains in limbo.
The 30-year-old’s preference was always to remain in London, but rumoured interest from Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Ham eventually amounted to nothing. The windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia are still open, though Sterling apparently has little desire to move abroad amid a determination to battle his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
As things stand, Sterling will seriously struggle to do that without regular first-team football, even if he somehow hits the stride of his life over the second half of 2025/2026 after a potential move elsewhere in the winter.
Time is running out for the ex-Man City winger to reestablish himself as an England international after failing to impress on loan at Arsenal last season, with ex-Man United chief scout Mick Brown now sharing the drastic action Chelsea could take to free Sterling of his Stamford Bridge shackles.
Chelsea could take drastic Raheem Sterling action
Speaking to Football Insider, Brown, who remains very well-connected within the beautiful game, has suggested that Chelsea could terminate Sterling’s contract to get him off the books, which comes an almighty boost for the likes of West Ham and Fulham beyond the window.
“It’s a possibility that Chelsea could tear up his contract,” he told Football Insider.
“Fulham and West Ham are clubs I’ve heard want him, but they haven’t been able to do deals with Chelsea or meet the wages they’re paying him. If Chelsea know a move is there for him, they might cut their losses and let him go for free.
“That would allow him to go wherever he wants to go without them getting involved. At the moment, it’s been difficult to agree a deal both with Chelsea and with Sterling, and clubs are more likely to move if there’s no transfer fee involved.
“Plus, it would allow him to move outside of the window so there’s no restriction there.
“I think that’s a better scenario than having him collecting his wage and never playing.”
Losing out on any future transfer fee and taking a seismic loss on Sterling would be regrettable, but in the short-term, it would save Chelsea millions in terms of salary and allow the forward to ressurect his now-faltering career.
