Chelsea are set to continue their summer of sales with the departure of three midfielders. The London side are in the process of finalising the moves, with one deal reportedly being all done.
There have already been eight permanent departures for Chelsea in this window, however, that number looks like it will rise. There have been questions over how compliant Chelsea have been with PSR regulations due to their extremely high expenditures compared to relatively few sales.
The eight sales completed this summer have already brought in roughly €150m (transfermarkt). However, with arrivals costing around €280m, it would create questions over whether Chelsea can stay within the PSR limits; even with arrivals being amortised over multiple years.
With Chelsea set to see three midfielders leave to other top-tier clubs, as per Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea should easily see their total sales surpass €200m.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Everton
Most notable of the three to be leaving is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The midfielder arrived at Chelsea just last summer from Leicester City, costing €35m and disappointing a large amount of the Leicester fanbase.
Despite loan spells at Blackpool and Luton, Dewsbury-Hall had spent the vast majority of his career at Leicester, racking up 129 competitive appearances for the Foxes. Dewsbury-Hall was a regular player for the club in the Premier League, however, the highlight of his career arguably came during their short season-long stay in the Championship.;
The 2023/24 Championship season saw Leicester win the league with 97 points, with Kiernan playing a huge part in promotion. Scoring 12 goals with a further 14 assists, he was named the club’s Players’ Player, and Supporters’ Player, of the Season. He was also named as The Athletic’s Championship Player of the Season.
Leicester City were reluctant to finalise the sale of Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, but the financial fair play rules made it unavoidable. Since joining Chelsea, Dewsbury-Hall has been fairly underwhelming despite racking up over 1600 minutes in 31 matches (not including the Club World Cup).
The issue was, that just 13 of these 31 matches were in the Premier League, yet he played almost every minute in their UEFA Conference League triumph. He scored four goals in the European campaign but failed to net a goal in the league.
Now the midfielder is set to leave Chelsea, with a deal in the advanced stages with Merseyside club Everton. The Athletic reported that Chelsea would only consider a fee of £30m if Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was to depart, essentially writing off the amount Chelsea paid for him.
Lesley Ugochukwu to Burnley
Lesley Ugochukwu is also set to move to another Premier League club, with a deal to move to newly promoted Burnley reportedly already being complete.
Ugochukwu is just 21 but already has 38 Premier League appearances to his name. Most of these came during his loan at Southampton last season, where he was one of the few upsides of a dreary twelve-point relegation season.
He made 12 appearances for Chelsea in the 2023/24 season, playing an average of 26 minutes per match. He started just three matches, but it was clear that he was a bright prospect for the club. Nevertheless, as Chelsea aim to reduce bulk and comply with PSR, Ugochukwu will certainly leave London this window.
It’s not clear what fee Burnley will pay for Ugochukwu just yet; with the player joining Chelsea for £23m in 2023, it is likely that the fee will be close to that amount.
Carney Chukwuemeka to Borussia Dortmund
Chelsea loaned out Carney Chukwuemeka to BVB in the January transfer window, and now the German side are ready to welcome him back permanently.
During his season in Dortmund, the 21-year-old only played 25 minutes per 90 over 10 Bundesliga matches; Chelsea are demanding £40m for the central-midfielder, the same as his release clause, which Dortmund are understandably reluctant to activate.
Of the three sales, this one seems the most difficult to complete due to Chelsea’s high valuation. Chukwuemeka joined the Blues from Aston Villa for £20m in 2022, and they believe that his value doubled in three years.
If the sale was completed for anywhere near £40m, Chelsea would see an impressive boost to their financial situation. This being said, it would not be surprising to see that fee decrease before any sale is finalised.