Chelsea 'prepared to sell' Reece James this summer

Stuart Telford

• 31 Mar 2024 10:03 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea are reportedly ready to cash in on their injury-prone captain Reece James this summer, with Conor Gallagher among those set to follow him out of Stamford Bridge.

James is widely regarded as one of the best right-backs in the game, injury permitting.

The England international had five goals and nine assists in the Premier League two short seasons ago, but has missed 20 games this term due to a hamstring injury that now requires surgery.

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His travails are set against the backdrop of Chelsea's looking FFP difficulties, with the club desperately needing to balance the books after an outlay on players that exceeds £1 billion since Todd Boehly took control in 2022.

"Chelsea are preparing to sell the England internationals Reece James and Conor Gallagher this summer in an attempt to bring the club's strained Financial Fair Play position into line," reports The Times' Duncan Castles.

'Planned sale of homegrown players'

"Chelsea's unprecedented spend on players… since 2022's Clearlake Capital-led takeover has left them in danger of joining Everton and Nottingham Forest in breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules, leading to the planned sale of homegrown players."

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Selling Cobham academy graduates means Chelsea can count the full transfer fee received as pure profit, making James' position yet more precarious.

James is valued at €40.3 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm. Gallagher, who has captained the side in his stead this season, is €39.3m. Trevoh Chalobah (€23.7m) is another who could be cashed in on.

A pair of left-backs out on loan - Lewis Hall (€8.6m) at Newcastle and Ian Maatsen (€17m) at Borussia Dortmund - will also be sold.

It is also a priority for the Blues to offload Romelu Lukaku on a permanent basis after his loan to Roma. They are sure to make a loss on the Belgian they first signed in 2011, though, having paid Inter Milan €113m for his 'services' in 2022.