Chelsea have been busy off-loading their senior players, which include Romelu Lukaku, Raheem Sterling, young players like Armando Broja, Malang Sarr, and many more. These transfers have proven to be quite profitable for the Blues.
This summer transfer window was all about Chelsea. They brought in some of the top talents in the world. For this massive spending, the Chelsea hierarchy decided to balance the books. They started their “mass exodus” with the departure of Ian Maatsen and Omari Hutchinson.
The latest departure includes Angelo Gabriel. The young Brazilian has joined Saudi club, Al-Nassr, on a permanent deal. The Brazilian will join forces with one of the greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Chelsea bought Angelo in the Mauricio Pochettino era. However, he was loaned out to Strasbourg FC. Without playing even a Premier League match for the Blues, the Brazilian winger is now permanently leaving Stamford Bridge.
A few days ago, fans were hearing a similar story for the Italian talent, Cesare Casadei. When Chelsea were discussing a swap deal with Napoli, they included Casadei in that exchange deal.
It is also being reported that Saudi Club, Al-Ettifaq, were also negotiating with Chelsea for their academy graduate, Harvey Vale. Till now, there is no agreement between the clubs.
Why are Chelsea selling their talents?
First of all, the transfer of Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea was a disaster. The Belgian cost the Blues around £93m, but his performance didn’t justify the hefty price tag. Although the striker didn’t want to join Chelsea, his former club, Inter Milan, sold him to get rid of bad financial conditions.
After his horrendous transfer to Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku became a burden and a hated figure at Stamford Bridge. The Blues had been trying to sell him since the 2022-23 season. Last season, Lukaku went on a loan to AS Roma. There he had a great season under Jose Mourinho and then Danielle De Rossi. Before the last season, he also spent another loan spell at his former club, Inter Milan.
However, no one was ready to trigger Lukaku’s release clause to sign him permanently. This became a headache for Chelsea until the Partenopei offered him a three-year contract.
In the 2022-2023 season, the Blues bought Lukaku for £97m from Inter Milan. During that time, Lukaku was at the peak of his career. He and Antonio Conté had led Inter Milan to lift the Serie A title for the first time in 11 years.
To conclude this horrible transfer saga, Napoli decided to sign the Belgium forward for €30m. On financial terms, this deal was an absolute loss for Chelsea.
Stories behind the scenes of Lukaku’s saga at Chelsea
According to multiple reports, Inter Milan were forced to sell Lukaku in 2021 because they were in a bad financial condition. During that time, the Blues offered a humongous amount of money to Inter Milan.
Inter Milan grabbed this opportunity and started to revive their financial condition. After coming to Stamford Bridge, Lukaku opened his book with bangers. The Belgian was delivering masterclass performances week in and week out.
Then a controversial interview was released where Lukaku publicly criticized the management and former manager, Thomas Tuchel’s playing style. He also admitted the regret he had on leaving Inter and expressed his desire to return to the club. No club will tolerate this type of behavior from their players. Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea immediately sidelined the striker.
Chelsea’s Sales in the summer transfer window
Chelsea have raised almost £94.5 million this transfer window with their sales. Some of their biggest sales include Omari Hutchinson to Ipswitch Town for £22m, Ian Maatsen to Aston Villa for £37.5m, and Lewis Hall to Newcastle United for £35m. On top of that, the Blues have sold Romelu Lukaku to Napoli. According to Metro, the Blues earned a profit of £6m from the sales of Angelo Gabriel.
The most surprising one is the transfer of Raheem Sterling to the Gunners. Although Arsenal will not pay any loan fee for Sterling, the Chelsea squad is losing an experienced player. Multiple sources are claiming that he had some issues with the new Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca.
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