Chelsea’s hopes of raising funds and lightening their squad have been given a major boost by three of their outcasts – Édouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech – closing in on lucrative moves to clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are under pressure to move players out of Chelsea and the ownership hopes to offload a number of expensive misfits to the big-spending Saudi Pro League.
Although Romelu Lukaku has snubbed interest from Al-Hilal and hopes to return to Inter on loan, many of the Belgian striker’s teammates are open to moving to the Middle East. Chelsea are in talks with Al-Nassr over a deal for the Morocco winger Ziyech, who wants to team up with Cristiano Ronaldo, and Koulibaly is likely to join Al-Hilal for about €30m (£25.5m). Mendy, who lost his place in goal to Kepa Arrizabalaga last season, is likely to move to Al-Ahli.
Chelsea, who are also set to lose N’Golo Kanté on a free transfer to Al-Ittihad, need to sell players after spending close to £600m since last summer. Their transfer activity has left them with a bloated squad and has led to speculation over them falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations. Club insiders have insisted there are no concerns over FFP.
Nonetheless the recent flurry of activity from Saudi Arabian clubs thanks to investment from the country’s Public Investment Fund is a welcome development for Chelsea as they look to streamline Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Chelsea were willing to sell Ziyech in January and the former Ajax playmaker was left aggrieved after a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain broke down because of technical glitches on deadline day. Pochettino is not short of attacking midfielders and Ziyech, who joined Chelsea for £37m in 2020, has been inconsistent during his time in west London.
Koulibaly has also struggled since his £33.8m move from Napoli last summer. The 31-year-old Senegal centre-back has not adapted to the pace of the Premier League but there were concerns that his high wages would make it difficult for Chelsea to shift him. Inter failed with a loan bid for Koulibaly last week. Al-Hilal, though, will have no problem matching Koulibaly’s wages.
There will be sadness over Mendy leaving. The Senegal goalkeeper was a smart signing from Rennes in 2020 and played a key role in Chelsea winning the Champions League two years ago but his form has deserted him during the past 18 months. Mendy struggled with injuries last season and has not agreed a new deal. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been a major flop since joining Chelsea last year, also has interest from several Saudi clubs.
Chelsea are expected to raise funds by selling Mason Mount to Manchester United, Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City and Kai Havertz to Arsenal. They are set to step up their efforts to sign the Brighton midfielder Moisés Caicedo, and the Villarreal striker Nicolas Jackson. Well-placed sources believe they will bid for the Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga soon.
