The Telegraph reports that Chelsea could lose up to nine first-team players in the summer, as doubts continue about the future of manager Antonio Conte.
Sunday’s home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur means that Chelsea are now 8 points behind their London rivals in the race for Champions League football next season, and with only 7 games to go look set to drop into the Europa League next season.
The lack of Champions League football will make it hard to hang on to their biggest stars, with Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard both set to turn down new deals, amidst rumoured interest in the two players from Real Madrid.
They are not the only players whose future at Stamford Bridge is uncertain though. Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Gary Cahill, David Luiz and their January signing from Arsenal, Olivier Giroud, will only have one year left on their current deals in the summer, and all of them will run up against Chelsea’s current policy of not offering contract extensions of more than a year to players who are over 30 years old.
Meanwhile, decisions about on-loan players Michy Batshuayi and Kurt Zouma, who are currently at Borussia Dortmund and Stole City, will be deferred until Chelsea’s managerial situation next season has been resolved.
