Focus is on the incomings at Stamford Bridge, with Enzo Maresca placed at the helm and now focussed on bolstering a talented but flawed Chelsea team.
The focus may be on the incomings, but let's not forget that numerous strugglers must be sold this summer. Chelsea's bloated squad needs trimming to refine and foster a winning mentality to match their mightiest Premier League rivals.
While there are several that will be pushed toward the door, Conor Gallagher's possible summer sale has cut a schism through the Stamford Bridge support.
The England international would fetch a pure-profit fee of £50m but is athletic and energetic in the centre of the park, a key cog in the system.
However, the consensus around the likes of Benoit Badiashile is a bit more universal. The centre-back is being mooted for an exit and given that Thiago Silva left the club upon the expiry of his contract, this perhaps speaks volumes for Badiashile and his future at Chelsea.
Why Chelsea signed Benoit Badiashile
Chelsea signed Badiashile from AS Monaco for a fee of £35m in January 2023. He was regarded as one of the finest young ball-playing defenders in Europe, and he was left-footed to boot.
He ticked the boxes. Badiashile had completed 135 appearances for Monaco after graduating from their academy and had been described as the "complete defender" by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
But after a season-and-a-half at Chelsea, the France ace has not quite fallen by the wayside but he's certainly taken a tumble, with positional peers stealing ahead and leaving him faced with a Premier League career on the periphery, starting just 15 games last season.
The 23-year-old ranks among the top 13% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 9% for passes attempted and the top 6% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref, but he's simply not been the 'complete' package that Boehly had hoped for, with recent reports suggesting his time is up.
Why Benoit Badiashile should be sold
As per Chelsea insider Simon Phillips, the club are weighing up selling Badiashile this summer following interest from Serie A sides AC Milan and Roma, with the Saudi Pro League also eager to bring him to the Gulf.
Badiashile is by no means a liability in the Chelsea side but he's struggled to impose himself. He was even branded "dreadful" by pundit Gabby Agbonlahor after a particularly poor showing against Liverpool back in January, losing 4-1, even claiming that it was "probably the worst centre-half performance" across the past two seasons.
Tosin Adarabioyo has been signed on a free transfer after his contract with Fulham expired but this can be taken as a one-out-one-in kind of deal, with Thiago Silva no longer on the Stamford Bridge books.
But with Wesley Fofana, who has endured an injury-ridden few years after signing for Chelsea from Leicester City in 2022, expected to rock up to pre-season with sights set on working toward a starring role in Maresca's team, Badiashile might find opportunities few and far between, not least because Levi Colwill and Axel Disasi also hope to play key parts in the forthcoming campaign.
Trevoh Chalobah has also been linked with an exit but Badiashile might be the one to cash in on, especially as he's currently taking home more each week than some of Chelsea's most important members.
Benoit Badiashile
£90k-per-week
Axel Disasi
£80k-per-week
Cole Palmer
£75k-per-week
Nicolas Jackson
£65k-per-week
Robert Sanchez
£60k-per-week
Conor Gallagher
£50k-per-week
Noni Madueke
£50k-per-week
Trevoh Chalobah
£50k-per-week
For all of Chelsea's lucrative spending under Boehly, credit is certainly due for keeping a lid on player wages, especially when comparing the books to some of the club's divisional rivals.
But Badiashile simply should not be earning more than the likes of Cole Palmer and Gallagher, with the latter among the Premier League's most coveted transfer targets at present and Palmer… well, he's been simply incredible since signing from Manchester City last summer, scoring 25 goals and adding 15 assists for his London-based outfit.
Badiashile is currently valued at £22m by Football Transfers. While it's unlikely that Chelsea would be able to recoup the full outlay paid for his signature, he is still a young and talented player and selling him with haste would be a win-win for all parties involved.
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