Chelsea could be on the verge of another major shake-up with manager Mauricio Pochettino's wage bill set to be slashed.
The club's ownership group are reportedly planning to reduce the budget by up to £80 million, which could result in several players being sold. Despite recent investments, including a cash injection from US alternative asset management firm Ares, Blues chiefs are looking to make significant cutbacks.
Clearlake, one of Chelsea's co-owners, are spearheading the cost-cutting measures. The aim is to reduce the overall expenditure by £80 million, with up to 13 senior members of Pochettino's squad potentially being offloaded.
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Clearlake co-founder Jose Feliciano outlined the next steps in the ownership group's Chelsea journey at the IPEM private equity conference. Feliciano said: “Ultimately, we are extremely aligned with that supporter and fan base because the best way to make our club more valuable is to win.
"The team had a tough first season, our first season. We have a tremendous amount of talent." He added: "I think what we are trying to do is reduce the salary and essentially the opex [operating expenses] of the business by over $100m (£80.6m) per year.”
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While not all of the £80 million cutbacks will come from player salaries, a substantial portion is expected to be trimmed, the Express.. This could involve selling up to five players and saving around £40 million.
One player who could be on his way out is Romelu Lukaku, who has already taken a pay cut and is currently on loan at Roma. Another whose future at Stamford Bridge is uncertain is Marc Cucurella.
Despite a late summer loan move to Manchester United falling through, Cucurella's £9.1 million yearly wage could make him a candidate for departure when the January transfer window opens. Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill have been preferred at left-back, further diminishing Cucurella's chances of regular playing time.
Centre-backs Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah, who earn a combined £8.8 million per year, could also be shown the door in January. Despite their potential, neither defender has made an appearance for the Blues this season and the club may opt to offload them to free up resources.
Hakim Ziyech, currently on loan at Galatasaray, is another player Chelsea are keen to offload permanently. Although a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr fell through due to injury concerns discovered in his medical, the club remain eager to remove his £5.2 million salary from the books.
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