Chelsea are set for a summer of sales. Not only do they need it to balance the lopsided financial books, the squad needs to be cut from a massive 31 to around 25 and that is without taking into consideration returning loanees and new additions.
If nobody were to leave and incomings were made alongside the loans, then at least 40 players could be listed as senior members of the group. The biggest task for Mauricio Pochettino and the new look recruitment set-up at Cobham is to ensure this doesn't happen.
It will also benefit the morale, confidence and atmosphere of players that have had a torrid and largely forgettable 12 months at the club. The plan is for a shake-up and change-up on a grand scale. Easier said than done but still just as necessary.
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The good news for Chelsea is that the early announcement of Pochettino - which has now been confirmed less than 24 hours after the club finished the league season - means there is plenty of time to prepare for the new season.
Chelsea have Malo Gusto in at right-back ready to join up for next season. Thiago Silva will be one year closer to joining the 40 club but Levi Colwill is returning, Andrey Santos is one of the brightest sparks of Under-18 football in the world and is yet to get a visa but will be available for selection.
Romelu Lukaku has over 100 Premier League goals to his name and has three years left on his contract - good or bad, only time will tell but it's an issue only Chelsea could have - and the Bundesliga's best performing attacker over the best three years is set to move to England as well.
Christopher Nkunku, 25, has a pre-agreement to join up come the end of this season and will take his seat (possibly on the floor depending on the size of the changing rooms at the time) alongside the club's raft of attackers. For £52.8m he is another big money signing but one that will excite fans heading into the Pochettino era.
His 2021/22 campaign was the stuff of legend. Bagging himself 20 league goals and 15 assists, Nkunku is the type of player Pochettino dreams of. Goalscoring attackers that don't play up front have shone under his watchful management - think Dele Alli or Kylian Mbappe.
The issue on the face of it is that Nkunku doesn't fit into the team, literally, right now. There are 11 attackers on the club website and that's without Omari Hutchinson, Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi or Mason Mount being considered. N'Golo Kante and Conor Gallagher are midfielders but have still been chosen ahead of an expensively assembled Eton Mess of a frontline.
Nkunku wouldn't even make a current XI of only players that have played in attack, he'd hardly make the bench. Not on ability, but in terms of sheer numbers. That's where the bulk of the sales will have to come from and one of those expected to be on their way out is Christian Pulisic.
The American was close to moving on last summer but no deal was found with Manchester United or Newcastle. One year on and 12 months away from his contract expiring, both parties want to find a solution. After four years at SW6 his amortised value is just over £11m.
This means that a sale for even £20m would result in a booked profit of nearly two times what they paid for him. With Nkunku on the way in and Pulisic - as well as others - on their way out, Pochettino need not worry about finding a replacement.
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