Chelsea fans have been quick to register their dismay at the club’s decision to leave a homegrown star out of their squad for the pre-season tour of the USA.
Blues supporters have been openly critical of their BlueCo ownership since the club changed hands from Roman Abramovic in 2022. Chairman Todd Boehly has come under fire for several high-profile business decisions, such as signing players at extortionate fees on long contracts and making puzzling decisions on managers.
With Enzo Maresca now at the helm, Chelsea look set for a fresh start. But it's been a tough start for the Italian, with a dressing room divided over Enzo Fernandez streaming a racist chant on Instagram and now the west Londoners seemingly freezing out an academy graduate in a bid to force him out of the club.
The Blues jetted out to the United States earlier this week, with Trevoh Chalobah a surprise exclusion, in a move which places a huge question mark next to the defender’s future at Stamford Bridge. Chalobah has been at Chelsea since the age of nine and made 13 appearances for the club last season after recovering from a thigh injury and now reportedly believes that he is being forced out of the club against his will, as per the Guardian.
They claim that the former England U21 international is now assessing his options. He he signed a new contract at the club, which runs until 2028, just two years ago.
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The club have signed Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer this summer and with Wesley Fofana returning from injury, competition for places at the back is fierce. New head coach Maresca addressed this, when he expressed his ‘sadness’ over the decision to omit Chalobah from his latest travelling squad.
“First of all, from my point of view, it’s always sad to leave players out. That can be out of a pre-season, or can be out of the squad or out of the first eleven because in the end they all work for the same target, that is to be part of the same team,” said the former Leicester City boss.
“The Trevoh situation for me is quite clear, we have Axel [Disasi] there, we have Tosin Adarabioyo there, we have Wes Fofana who in these two weeks has worked very good and is finally back, we have some very young profiles like Josh Acheampong who is doing fantastic. It’s a sad decision but we have to take the decision.”
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has subsequently reported that the club are ready to sell Chalobah for £30-35 million. The decision to leave the homegrown star at home has largely gone down badly with Blues fans on social media.
“Trevoh Chalobah not only brought quality & results to Chelsea's team last season, he brought leadership. If the ownership/sporting directors/manager ditch him, the team/squad becomes weaker. Back to mid-table,” one fan posted on X, while another’s message was a simple one: “Can’t we keep Chalobah and sell the sporting directors?”
With Chalobah having come through the academy at Stamford Bridge, any potential sale would be bankable as pure profit for accounting purposes, which would hand the club a huge boost in their Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) standing this summer, with the club again being very active in the transfer market. And while Chalobah will reportedly now weigh up his options, the likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace have been linked with the defender who is valued at €13million by Transfermarkt.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, this is another unfortunate case of the current PSR rules working against homegrown talent and an exit feels inevitable. Leaving the club you love is never easy, but for the sake of Chalobah’s career at the age of 25, a move away would be the best course of action.
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