“Make use of your opportunity now or get sold in January” – Chelsea to give forgotten Chelsea star a chance before next year
A lifeline that one Chelsea periphery player needs to accept if he wants to stay with the team could soon arrive.
Trevoh Chalobah and Raheem Sterling were among the players Chelsea brutally forced out of Stamford Bridge during the summer.
After being cut from the first team, both players were later leased out to Arsenal and Crystal Palace, respectively.
If Sterling is unable to win them over this season, Chelsea may sell him to Arsenal the next year. They also appear ready to offload another summer 2022 signing.
Chelsea set to give Carney Chukwuemeka an opportunity before considering sale
Like Sterling, Carney Chukwuemeka arrived at Chelsea two years ago in a £20m deal. However, the midfielder has found himself on the periphery, partly because of injury.
According to Ben Jacobs, though, the club have not given up on him yet and will give the 20-year-old the chance to prove himself before they contemplate a sale.
Speaking to GiveMeSport about Chukwuemeka’s situation, Jacobs said: “Chelsea don’t look at Chukwuemeka as somebody that is a big outlay on the wage bill, nor was he signed for a particularly large fee. It was a big fee, given his age and his profile at the time, but it’s under £20million in all.
“So Chelsea want to give the player the opportunity to maybe change their mind or move higher in the pecking order, and that may come through a loan to get him more minutes, or if something can’t be facilitated, they’ll be open for a sale in 2025.”
Carney Chukwuemeka should get opportunity in Conference League
With Enzo Maresca clearly ready to rest his best players in the Conference League, not even registering Palmer for it, Chukwuemeka should get minutes in Europe this season.
The opportunities the former Aston Villa man gets, he has to take them. If not, then it looks like Chelsea will consider offloading him.
A loan move in January also seems possible, though, and if Chukwuemeka can shine at another club, perhaps that could be another route into Maresca’s thinking.
With the Italian having a lot of midfield and attacking midfield options, however, the England youth international faces a tough task getting into this Chelsea team.
Chukwuemeka was linked to AC Milan during the summer transfer window, so that could be one potential destination for the Chelsea youngster in 2025 if he does depart west London.