Coach Enzo Maresca owns a powerful squad at Chelsea, but for many reasons, he cannot retain everything. Below is a list of 6 potential players that other Premier League teams want.
Christopher Nkunku
Christopher Nkunku came to Chelsea with a great reputation after developing into one of the best strikers of RB Leipzig. Chelsea is said to have succeeded in recruiting him. However, unfortunately, Nkunku had a serious knee injury in the first year, causing him to deviate.
Nkunku struggled to catch up with the first season after returning, only kicking twice in the Premier League. He hopes to create more influence in the 2024/25 season, but only 9 out of his 27 matches in the Premier League are the main kick.
However, if arranged in the right place, he could clearly contribute a lot. In the third and fourth season in Leipzig, Nkunku scored 36 goals in the Bundesliga and created 17 goals. Despite taking several different positions, he mainly leads the attack and often appears on the left wing.
Nkunku has shown superior to the XG (excluding penalty), although the XG (excluding penalty) averages 0.52/every 90 minutes still reflects the ability to penetrate his dangerous positions impressively. That is also proven by the number of assists.
In all competitions, Nkunku has scored 81 goals in the seasons of 2021/22 and 2022/23, the achievement of only 5 players (Kylian Mbappe – 110, Robert Lewandowski – 97, Erling Haaland – 97, Karim Benzema – 96, Mohamed Salah – 92) surpassed.
Now 27 years old and on the edge of the abyss at Chelsea, the days of exploding at Leipzig seemed to have passed a long time ago. But a transfer move may reshap hope if Nkunku retains physical strength. Nearly 1 year to the 2026 World Cup, there are many motivations for him to find opportunities to play other teams.
Kiernan dewsbury-hall
The fact that Chelsea signed with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City in the summer of 2024 was always a strange transfer. Dewsbury-Hall followed coach Enzo Maresca from Leicester to Londo seemed to be somewhat lost.
He even used less than Nkunku in the Premier League 2024/25, with 13 matches (2 main kicks), only 259 minutes on the field. Instead, he was used for the UEFA Conference League and played all 15 matches.
There is a title but the little play in the Premier League is a sign of the location of Dewsbury-Hall very low. Similarly, he only played at least 15 minutes in 2 of Chelsea's 7 matches on the journey to the Club World Cup championship.
Dewsbury-Hall will turn 27 in September, so he is no longer a promising young talent. And although the World Cup 2026 is difficult to come, he certainly will not have it without playing. The last season he played regularly in the Premier League was the 2022/23 season.
Among the central midfielder and defensive midfielder, he ranked the ninth of the average gap that he brought the ball up each time (5.7m) and the 10th of the number of times to reach at least 10m per 90 minutes (3.4).
1.5 Open chances that Dewsbury-Hall creates every 90 minutes is only 6 midfielders (playing over 900 minutes) and most of them are players who spend a lot of time playing at the No. 10.
He is proud of the success rate of 58.9% in the 2022/23 season, helping him to rank sixth among central midfielders/defensive midfielders. As a player worth watching, Dewsbury-Hall felt wasted when he had to sit on the bench for Chelsea.
Axel Disasi
Axel Disasi joined Chelsea in 2023 after becoming one of the most sought -after players Ligue 1. The British performance in Monaco helped him be recognized worldwide with France and made the center -back attract attention from all over Europe.
But the movement to Chelsea did not happen like a dream. It is unclear how much this may affect him, because he was initially pushed into a team that was having difficulty integrating under Mauricio Pochettino.
He lost his position after coach Maresca arrived. After that, Disasi played more in the Conference League compared to the Premier League in the first half of the 2024/25 season, before being borrowed by Aston Villa.
Looking back at the time in Monaco, we can clearly see the center -back model he became famous in Ligue 1, when he was famous for his lightning fast and impressive movements. A problem that makes Disasi dissatisfied is that he is easily pushed into the position of the full -back.
Although possessing a good speed when starting, he is not agile or dynamic to become a reliable option on the wings, and that role can deny his best physical qualities, such as the power in the close -range disputes.
However, Disasi has a lot of potential to develop further, as a good addition to another team.
Lesley ugochukwu
The past two years witnessed Lesley Ugochukwu somewhat stagnant. Coming from the prestigious training furnace of Rennes, he is highly appreciated, although inexperienced.
The scattered pitch in the first season helped him gradually get used to the harshness of the Premier League before being lent at Southampton in the 2024/25 season. On average, he brought the ball to a height of 5.3 meters for each holding the ball, ranked 12th of the 70 central midfielders and defended last season.
He won 59.4% in the dispute on the field last season. That helped him ranked 6th among midfielders under 24 when the 2024/25 season ended. Again, this is an aspect that he stands out in Rennes in part by bodybuilding.
Ugochukwu is an elegant midfielder, who can also bring physical advantages. Only 21 years old, he is not a useless player, and has great potential. Currently, he has no future at Chelsea, but that does not mean that he cannot develop elsewhere.
Carney Chukwuemeka
The real excitement spread around Carney Chikwuemeka after he moved from Aston Villa in August 2022. High, skillful, agile and courageous when holding the ball, he certainly has many advantages, but has difficulty in promoting the original potential.
After 14 appearances in the Premier League in the first season, this figure dropped to 9 times in the 2023/24 season, and then did not play the field in the first half of the 2024/25 season. He was lent to Dortmund in February.
Some physical problems have made him difficult in the beginning in Dortmund, making him more and more regression. But he began to show his light rays at the end of the season, praised by Niko Kovac as “the one who changed the match.”
Dortmund finally refused to sign an official contract with him but it seemed that they wanted to borrow him another season, while some sources said he could go to RB Leipzig as part of the agreement that allows Xavi Simons to join Chelsea.
Nicolas Jackson
Nicolas Jackson is probably the least likely player, although there are certainly concerns about the elements in the game, he is a relatively important player in both seasons at Chelsea. Obviously he has a lot of potential, and only 23 years old.
But he is not inviolable. Chelsea can almost certainly earn a profit from the initial investment of £ 32 million, which can be an attractive opportunity when considering the need to balance expenses related to UEFA's “black list”.
MU is the most related, likely to be part of the agreement for Alejandro Garnacho to leave in the opposite direction, although Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham and Fulham are also interested.
Jackson is an almighty striker. Among the nominal strikers in the 2024/25 season (stone 900 minutes or more), he ranked sixth in the number of times running without the ball every 90 minutes (25.8) and the fourth of the number of pressure at the end of the pitch every 90 minutes (31.4), and a reliable threat in the penalty area.
On average, 0.5 expected goals (excluding penalty) every 90 minutes, helping him to rank fifth among all strikers (stone over 900 minutes). Of course, the problem is that in the past two seasons, only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (-10,1) has a missed opportunity than Jackson (-7,0) on XG (excluding penalty).
