Chelsea forced to sell Tottenham linked star in January due to FFP; £25m required for deal
Chelsea defenders Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah
Chelsea could be forced into selling defender Trevoh Chalobah in January to ease Financial Fair Play concerns, it has been claimed.
The 24-year-old is a product of the Blues’ academy and any sale would therefore be considered pure profit in their accounts.
Chalobah was heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer.
Reports suggest that Nottingham Forest made £25m bid for him, which was accepted, but Chalobah snubbed the move to the City Ground. Tottenham have also made enquiries into signing him.
Bayern Munich also hold an interest in the defender, and they are planning to come back in for him in January.
Pochettino was asked about Chalobah in a recent interview. This came after reports suggested that he had been ‘exiled’ from the Chelsea squad.
“Of course [he’s still part of his plans]. I am Chelsea, I am the coach and his future is going to be involved in the season.” Pochettino said.
“He is in our plans. No one is going to decide for me.”
Despite this, everything points towards him leaving Chelsea in January at the moment.
Chelsea tipped to offload Chalobah in January
According to Football Insider, Chelsea are ‘keen’ to sell Chalobah in January to ease FFP concerns.
Chelsea spent approximately £400m on new arrivals in the summer window, including Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo.
As a result, they need to sell more players to ensure that they do not breach the Premier League’s spending rules, and Chalobah seems to be one of the most likely exits.
The centre-back is yet to feature for Chelsea this season due to a hamstring injury picked up in pre-season.
With Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill being three of the first names on the Chelsea team sheet at the moment, it seems unlikely Chalobah would be able to break into the starting XI when he returns.
While a move to Nottingham Forest might not have appealed to him, it’s thought that he would be keen to link up with Thomas Tuchel again at Bayern Munich.
Tottenham have also been linked with a move for Chalobah, so they may well throw their hat into the ring, too.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the German giants or Spurs are willing to pay the £25m required to sign Chalobah in January.
