Chelsea might have to offload some of its own players in order to make ends meet.
Selling its essential academy products is one way the Blues can get around the FFP requirements that are putting them in a tight spot.
Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja, and other Chelsea players have been linked to moves away from the club, and Martin Lipton claims that another prominent academy product may leave within the next 18 months.
As the journalist has been discussing Chelsea’s predicament on Last Word on Spurs, he believes that Reece James may soon be leaving the team. He asserts that he believes the right-back will ultimately join Manchester City to replace Kyle Walker.
James might sign with Manchester City.
Lipton discussed the possibility of the defender leaving.
“It’s not impossible in the coming week if the blues finds a new player they truly need and selling Gallagher is the only way to make the numbers add up. In the summer, it is more likely. In my opinion, Chelsea will have sold Gallagher and James in the next 18 months, with James joining Man City to take Walker’s place. James’s new owners have never seen him perform well, hence they will sell him for £80 million, according to Lipton.
No sentiment
If Todd Boehly has shown us anything about Chelsea, it’s that he doesn’t have time for sentimentality.
James, the current captain of the team, is an academy product who would ideally play with Chelsea for the rest of his career.
But as Lipton points out, his severe injury issues have prevented him from playing well since the new owners took over, so if the Blues receive a big offer from a team like City, they might let him leave.
Mason Mount was not saved by Chelsea’s sentiment last summer, and James might soon find himself in a similar situation.
