Reports have emerged about Chelsea potentially selling Reece James this summer.
Chelsea need to try and stay in line with profit and sustainability rules so may need to offload some players at the end of the season.
Before the Reece James rumours, a Conor Gallagher exit was the thing being spoken about.
Journalist Dean Jones claimed that some figures at Chelsea believe that the midfielder could fetch £50m in the next transfer window.
It will now be interesting to see what happens in regard to James, who is still out injured.
Are Chelsea really prepared to sell Reece James?
James was only made captain last summer and is one of the best players in the world in his position.
If you are a Chelsea supporter, selling the right-back is unthinkable.
He has ranked in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons and the 94th for touches in the attacking penalty area among his positional peers over the last year (FBref).
How many full-backs are better than James going forward? The above shows not many.
Nevertheless, a report from The Times over the weekend claimed that Chelsea plan to sell James in the next transfer window, and journalist Simon Phillips has now shared what he has heard about the 24-year-old.
On his Substack, Phillips stated that while Chelsea are not actively trying to force James out of the club, “sources believe” that the Blues would listen to a big offer for him.
How much money should Chelsea sell Reece James for?
At this moment in time, no price tag should be put on James. He is simply too good of a player for Chelsea to offload.
Yes, they need to avoid breaching profit and sustainability regulations, but with a squad of their size and quality, there are surely other players who can be sold before their captain.
It really makes the club’s spending look even more mad. If they now need to sacrifice talent, homegrown talent that they already had, a lot of the purchases made under the new ownership become even more questionable.