Chelsea have confirmed that 13 players will be released this summer including French flop Tiemoue Bakayoko.
The Blues are in the midst of reshaping their squad after heavy investment and the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino. The majority of the players who've been let go are young players who hadn't broken into the first-team picture, but Bakayoko's departure represents a massive financial loss.
The Frenchman moved to the Blues in the summer of 2017 after impressing in a Monaco side that made strides in the Champions League, scoring the winner in a tie with Manchester City. As a result Antonio Conte spent £40million to acquire Bakayoko the following summer.
He was the replacement for Nemanja Matic, who was sold to Manchester United, but failed to make the grade despite playing regularly in his first season. He was loaned out for five successive seasons, three of which came at AC Milan with spells at Monaco and Napoli sandwiched in between.
His last Chelsea outing came in the FA Cup final victory over the Red Devils at Wembley in 2018. Conte continued to back Bakayoko despite regular criticism coming his way. His Blues career appeared to end with the Italian's departure however with the likes of Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel all having no interest in bringing him back.
Bakayoko's exit therefore brings the curtain down on an underwhelming move with Derrick Abu, Prince Adegoke, Nathan Baxter, Juan Carlos Familia-Castillo, Bryan Benjamin Fiabema, Joe Samuel Haigh, Henry Lawrence, Sam McClelland, Dujon Henriques Sterling, Amari Otieno Thomas Silko, Ethan James Wady and Jayden Darren George Wareham all following him out the door.
Pochettino is set to begin putting his stamp on the squad at Stamford Bridge after a year of huge transition. Multiple men have stepped into the home dugout whilst millions have been spent on new players, some of whom face uncertain futures after poor debut seasons, but Chelsea registered their worst campaign in well over two decades.
The former Tottenham boss is out to prove himself in the Premier League once more after impressive spells in north London and, before that, Southampton. He must assess a squad that is heavily stocked after a huge recruitment drive.
Doubts swirl over some big names including Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante. Chelsea struggled to score goals last term, which may force them to add more firepower in the final third whilst there has also been talk of a new goalkeeper, but it appears as though Pochettino will stick with Kepa Arrizabalaga.
