Chelsea must sell £40m flop who was dubbed one of Europe’s “most exciting”

Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over at Chelsea, their transfer strategy has been heavily scrutinised in the media. However, in recent months, many have begun to change their tune, with things starting to gel for the Blues, the young investments beginning to fully show their quality, and the wage bill in a much healthier place.

One window that can still be heavily criticised though, is the first window under the new ownership, before any sporting directors were hired, and before the new recruitment strategy was in place. This saw Chelsea spend €300.75m (£249.2m) on eight permanent signings, all of whom joined on high wages.

Of these signings, Marc Cucurella is probably the one resounding success, with Wesley Fofana having immense ability, but being hampered by injuries, which makes his fee and wages look suspect in comparison to others in the squad.

However, one other player still at the club from this window, who hasn’t been given the opportunities required for him to show his true talent, could leave the club in January, and it may be the time for Chelsea to cash in, and part ways.

The Chelsea star who needs to be sold

Chelsea made the signing of Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa during the 2022/23 summer transfer window, joining for a fee of around £20m. The excitement around the youngster was high at the time, with Boehly even stating:

“Carney is one of the most exciting young players in Europe so we are really looking forward to seeing him in action at Stamford Bridge.

“We are delighted to be able to bring him to Chelsea and add such a talented young individual to our squad for the new season and beyond.”

However, the 21-year-old has struggled for consistent minutes since joining, suffering from multiple injury setbacks, and now finds himself out of favour under new manager, Enzo Maresca.

Chukwuemeka has made 32 appearances for the Blues since joining, scoring two goals, providing one assist, and totalling just 746 minutes.

It is now being reported by Ben Jacobs that Chukwuemeka will be available for a January exit, but the club will not consider a cut-price sale. A permanent transfer will reportedly cost interested parties the £40m release clause in the midfielder’s contract.

Chukwuemeka vs Dewsbury-Hall comparison

One man who many believe was an unnecessary summer signing in the 2024/25 window, who has taken the rotation minutes in Chukwuemeka’s position, is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who signed from Leicester for a fee of around £30m.

Since his arrival, Dewsbury-Hall has made 15 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scoring two goals, providing one assist and totalling 857 minutes played. Chukwuemeka, on the other hand, has only managed five appearances this season, totalling 130 minutes played.

In the 2023/24 season, Chukwuemeka found himself getting these rotation minutes when he was fit, even starting multiple games at the start of the season under Mauricio Pochettino.

This showed the ability of Chukwuemeka, offering output with goals and assists, being combative, winning his duels (tackles + interceptions), and helping to progress play with his ability to carry and pass the ball.

Dewsbury-Hall’s metrics are slightly inflated, due to the majority of his minutes coming in the UEFA Conference League this season, against inferior opposition, allowing some of his metrics to appear extremely high, such as shot-creating actions (5.76) and progressive passes (8.31).

The key difference in the players is their wages relative to their role in the squad, with Chukwuemeka earning £100k-per-week

, whilst Dewsbury-Hall earns just £80k-per-week, and doesn’t have the same track record with injuries as Chukwuemeka.

It’s for these reasons that Chelsea must move the young midfielder on.