As Chelsea continue to hit the transfer window hard, Mirror Football has a look at what the worst summer transfer window for Chelsea would end up like
It has been a typically busy transfer window for Chelsea so far this summer.
The Blues have kicked things off by signing six new players: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Omari Kellyman, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley, Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo. Aside from Dewsbury-Hall and Adarabioyo, these players will likely link up with the Blues' youth teams or perhaps Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, who the Blues' owners added to their multi-club structure in 2023.
While they have not been spending as obnoxiously as previous seasons, the Blues have still shelled out close to £100m on their new recruits. Yet, the transfer window is still young and there is still time for new faces to be added.
And that also means there is plenty of opportunity for some huge Blues players to depart. Mirror Sport takes a look at what the worst-case scenario end to the summer window would look like for Enzo Maresca's side.
Palmer leaves
Come out from behind the sofa Chelsea fans. This – at present – is something that isn't expected to happen. Last year, some football fans were left scratching their heads when the west Londoners shelled out a whopping £42.5m to sign the now-England star from Manchester City. Yet, the wing-wizard was one of the best players in the division last season, contributing 22 goals and 11 assists in 33 Premier League matches.
While the Blues have a lot of attacking talent, losing Palmer would be nothing short of disastrous for Maresca's side. At present, no club has been linked with the 22-year-old, who also has a contract that runs until 2030.
It would take something astronomical for the Blues to even consider an offer for Palmer, who scored the equaliser in England's Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain. If he was to depart Stamford Bridge, it would be one of the biggest losses Chelsea have suffered since Eden Hazard's exit to Real Madrid in 2019.
Tying Palmer down to a new contract on better terms would be the more likely outcome, given his clear importance to their project.
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Jonathan David deal collapses
After two years of recklessly paying over the odds for players, Chelsea have the rare opportunity for a bargain buy. With Nicolas Jackson blowing hot and cold last season and Christopher Nkunku being bogged down with injuries, the Blues missed a consistent goalscoring presence up front.
Few across Europe's top leagues last season were better than David, who helped himself to 26 goals and nine assists in 47 appearances for Lille. Best of all, the 24-year-old Canadian, who also bagged two goals in his country's run to the Copa America semi-final, would reportedly be available for between £17m and £20m.
Chelsea are not the only ones courting the forward, as Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United have also been linked with him. Maresca's side would be kicking themselves if they are not able to bring the clinical forward to Stamford Bridge. They may have to act fast now to avoid disappointment, and with Copa America over, David will be ready to get his future sorted.
Romelu Lukaku STAYS
Chelsea have had four managers since Romelu Lukaku last played a competitive game for the Blues. The club have not been able to offload the forward they paid Inter Milan £97.5m for all the way back in the summer of 2021.
Recently, it looked like he was going to move to Napoli to reunite with Antonio Conte at Napoli. Lukaku has made it abundantly clear that he does not want to remain at Chelsea, but the Blues have been unable to offload him as a result of his purported £325,000-per-week wages.
If this proves to be too much for Napoli and Chelsea cannot find him an agreement or a new club before the end of the transfer window, Lukaku will continue to burn a whole in the Blues' wage structure.
Maresca left with a bloated squad
Overcrowding ultimately struck down Graham Potter – and if Chelsea are not able to sell or loan enough players out, it could prove to be Maresca's downfall too. Ironically, Mauricio Pochettino found himself struggling for options due to an extraordinary injury crisis at the Bridge last season. Yet, Pochettino was eventually left with a large squad that he struggled to keep happy.
At present, Maresca is in charge of an enormous squad in west London. In central defence, he has six options who would all expect to be starting matches, while he also has similar problems in central midfield, where he has nine competing for a maximum of three places.
During Potter's reign, there were reports that the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk had to get changed in the corridor as there was not enough space in the changing room. The Blues cannot afford to let history repeat itself if they want to improve on their sixth place finish from last season.
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