Now unbeaten in 10 Premier League games, Chelsea are currently on a major resurgence under Thomas Tuchel and look set for Champions League qualification.
Chelsea have one of the biggest and best squads in the Premier League, but could they look to move some players on in the summer?
While the likes of Marcos Alonso, Kai Havertz, and Callum Hudson-Odoi seem to be thriving under Tuchel, a number of players have instead found themselves pushed to the periphery.
And with an insane number of quality players currently away from Stamford Bridge on loan, it seems unlikely that they’ll all be given a chance by Tuchel when they return.
With all of this in mind, here are five players who could be sold by Chelsea this summer.
#1 Tammy Abraham
Despite Tammy Abraham scoring 15 Premier League goals last season, it never really felt like Chelsea were willing to trust him as their main striker.
Alarm bells began to ring, for instance, when Chelsea signed German forward Timo Werner in the summer. And while it was always stressed that Werner could play with Abraham, the England striker has fallen down the pecking order since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard in January.
With Chelsea now being linked with a move for Norway striker Erling Haaland - and Tuchel seemingly willing to play Kai Havertz as a false #9 - it feels like any chance for Abraham to really make an impact at Stamford Bridge is fading away.
Thankfully, Abraham won’t have a lack of suitors. Aston Villa would love to have him return on a permanent basis after he scored 25 goals for them to help them to promotion in 2018-19. West Ham have also been linked with a move for the 23-year-old.
It seems harsh that Chelsea could simply shove this talented academy product aside, particularly after he performed so well for them in 2019-20.
However, the Blues are a ruthless club, and so we should expect Abraham to be plying his trade elsewhere next season.
#2 Ethan Ampadu
When Chelsea signed 16-year-old Ethan Ampadu from Exeter City in 2017, he brought a big reputation with him to Stamford Bridge.
One of the most highly-touted prospects in English football, the versatile defensive player made his Chelsea debut in the 2017-18 season.
It was always going to be tricky for him to become a first-team star right away. So unsurprisingly, he joined RB Leipzig on loan in the 2019-20 campaign.
Ampadu made just a handful of appearances for the Bundesliga club, but was expected to do better when he moved to Sheffield United on another loan deal this season. Unfortunately, things just haven’t worked out.
Ampadu has made plenty of appearances – 22 in the Premier League. But his form has been largely disastrous, and while it’s hard to blame a 20-year-old for this, it’s equally apparent that Ampadu doesn’t look ready for the Premier League.
Chelsea have a history of selling promising young players before when their loan moves prove unsuccessful. They sold Nathaniel Chalobah to Watford in the summer of 2017, for instance, despite the England international being at Stamford Bridge from the age of 10.
And so it seems highly likely that after his poor run at Bramall Lane, Ampadu will probably be sold to either a lower-end Premier League side or an EFL Championship team this summer.
#3 Kepa Arrizabalaga
When Chelsea paid Athletic Bilbao a huge £71.6m for the services of Kepa Arrizabalaga in the summer of 2018, they made the Spaniard the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Sadly, things haven’t been plain sailing in the years that have followed.
Arrizabalaga came under fire from Chelsea fans for a string of poor performances. The Spaniard made a seemingly unending number of mistakes, costing the Blues countless goals. And his statistics suggested he might be the Premier League’s worst goalkeeper, period.
It came as no surprise to see Chelsea part with another £22m in 2020 to bring in Senegalese keeper Edouard Mendy. And since then, Arrizabalaga has struggled for playing time.
Rumors suggested that part of new boss Thomas Tuchel’s remit was to rehabilitate the goalkeeper. But instead, he’s played just one game in the Premier League since the German’s arrival.
The form of Mendy suggests that a path back into Chelsea’s first team is now blocked. And with Arrizabalaga now losing his spot in the Spain national squad, he may decide he needs a move away this summer for his own good.
#4 Fikayo Tomori
The case of Fikayo Tomori at Chelsea is undoubtedly a strange one. Along with Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham, the England defender was one of the first academy graduates to be promoted by Frank Lampard into Chelsea’s first team during the 2019-20 campaign.
Tomori performed excellently at the heart of Chelsea’s defense. But after an injury midway through the season, he found himself largely frozen out of the picture by Lampard.
Quite why this was is a mystery – especially as Chelsea’s other defenders were hardly shining during the same period.
It came as no surprise when Tomori made a loan move away from Stamford Bridge in January, and it seems that Chelsea’s loss is AC Milan’s gain.
Tomori has been a first choice since arriving in Milan and has already made 10 appearances for his new team, reportedly impressing the coaching staff.
With Milan having an option to sign the defender permanently for just £24m this summer, it seems highly likely that they’ll exercise that right and bring him to the San Siro for good.
Given that Tomori is still only 23 years old, this is one move that Chelsea may well live to regret in the future.
#5 Emerson Palmieri
Emerson Palmieri has been with Chelsea for three years now, but the Italian wing-back has never really made his mark on the Blues’ first team.
In fact, since arriving at Stamford Bridge, he’s made just 32 Premier League appearances.
However, his fortunes appeared to be changing in the 2019-20 campaign. Frank Lampard started him in 13 of Chelsea’s 38 league games, showing some faith in the Italian.
And despite the signing of Ben Chilwell in the summer for a fee of £50m, it looked likely that Emerson would be able to stick around as his deputy.
That was because Lampard had largely frozen veteran Marcos Alonso out of the picture. However, since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, Alonso has been re-installed into Chelsea’s first team – even at the expense of Chilwell.
Emerson has not appeared in a league match since December, and it seems highly unlikely that he’ll be given another shot by Tuchel any time soon.
And as he’s clearly a talented player with some value, it would therefore make a lot of sense for Chelsea to move the Italian on in the summer. In this case, a move would probably be good for all parties.