Reece James
Chelsea have no plans to allow Reece James to leave this summer despite mounting pressure on the club’s ability to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules, sources have told ESPN.
The West London side faced Manchester United at Stamford Bridge Thursday night in their attempt to salvage a disappointing first season under head coach Mauricio Pochettino that sees them 12th in the Premier League with 10 games to play.
They reached the Carabao Cup Final — losing to Liverpool in extra-time — and face Manchester City in an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley later this month.
Sources at Chelsea have privately played down the possibility of a failure to comply, but the club have spent over £1 billion ($1.2bn) on new players since the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital takeover was completed in May 2022.
Around £400 million has been recouped in player transfers in that time and sources have told ESPN that Chelsea likely need to transfer players again by June 30 in order to help balance the books for the present accounting period.
Sources have said defender Trevoh Chalobah and midfielder Conor Gallagher are two players set to be made available, despite the latter captaining Chelsea this season and becoming arguably one of the team’s best performers under Pochettino.
Tottenham have repeatedly been linked with a move for Gallagher, who will have one year remaining on his contract at the end of the season. A failure to agree an extension would leave Chelsea little choice but to listen to offers.
Under Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules, money raised through sales of academy graduates counts as pure profit, which has led to speculation James could also be sold but sources have told ESPN that Chelsea are reluctant to part with a player they made club captain and handed a new six-year contract to in September 2022.
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are among the clubs to have scouted James, and it remains to be seen whether Chelsea could resist cashing in if any interested party made a big offer this summer but for the time being, they are planning with the defender in their ranks for next season.
James has endured a torrid campaign ravaged by injury, making just nine appearances due to persistent hamstring problems. He has not played since Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat at Everton on December 10, after which he underwent surgery in Finland.
