In a bid to comply with financial fair play rules and avoid a points penalty, Chelsea are reportedly planning to shock fans by selling captain Reece James this summer.
The Blues recently announced a loss of £90.1 million in 2023, which raised concerns that they would fall foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, PSR.
The easiest way to comply with PSR is to sell homegrown, academy players, with those deals counting as 100 per cent pure profit, and with this in mind, Chelsea has been expected to offload Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen.
However, the Times reported that James is now also on the chopping block, and the west London club believe they can generate in excess of £60 million for the right-back
Despite James being one of Chelsea’s most valuable players and their captain, the club hierarchy considers him dispensable, and getting a big return would help to allay Chelsea’s financial issues.