STAY or GO: Who Will Graham Potter Keep At Chelsea? | #WNTT

Welcome back to Football Daily where, you guessed it, we're talking about Chelsea. Now last night Chelsea lost, unsurprisingly, to Manchester City given their recent form and the pressure is building on Graham Potter. So today I'm going to be continuing my Stay or Go series that I've done with loads of Premier League and European clubs and looking at the current Chelsea squad as well as players that are out on loan and seeing who should be kept, who should be sold, who should be loaned, and who should be allowed to leave on a contract exit. Now the Chelsea squad is about as bloated as I've ever done. I've got 36 players in front of me here, so this might have to be quite quick fire. Alright, Chelsea currently have four goalkeepers on the books, it's an awful lot after signing Slonina recently, but we're going to start with Kepa, who I think, let's be right, should be kept. He is the guy under Graham Potter at the moment, one of the best save percentages in the league, he's under contract until 2027 of course, because let's not forget when they signed and they chose to offer him a seven year deal, absolutely brilliant work behind the scenes, but nevertheless he's actually re-found his form, hats off to him because it looked like last season and the season before he was a dead man walking. His backup is the guy who was brought in to replace him at the moment, and that's Eduard Mendy and I think this, for me, actually should be a sale. Now he is under contract until 2025, but he is 30 years old and I don't see him fitting in with the way Graham Potter wants to play football. With the ball at his feet, he also looks a little bit uncomfortable in terms of saving, I don't know what's happened to Eduard Mendy, but he looks really short on confidence at 30 years old, they've got two years left on his contract, I think now he could probably get a fee to get him back to France, it's time to sell. As for Bettinelli, he's out of contract in the summer, so I think I would just stick that down as a contract exit, Slonina, I'm going to have to say to keep, I would like to loan him, but that would just leave me with one goalkeeper in Kepa and I don't want to have to go into the summer market and find two goalkeepers. I think if you've got Kepa there, you can bring in a number two and Slonina can kind of learn his trade in European football, of course he came from Chicago, I think that would be absolutely perfect. Let's move on to the centre-backs then, because there is a list of about 200 now at Chelsea, including players that are out on loan. We should start with Thiago Silva, who technically is out of contract in the summer, he signed a contract extension, I think January 2022, to allow him to stay until the end of this season, I still think they should offer him another year. He's 38, I hear you, he's the best centre-back at the club, he's still one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, he looks timeless, his reading of the game is immense, he's starting nearly every Premier League match still without fitness concerns, or without too many fitness concerns, I think it's a no-brainer to keep him as a leader in that dressing room. Next up we've got Trevor Chalobah, I'm also going to keep him, obviously they've offered him a new contract recently and he signed it until 2028 and he's still only 23 years old, but of the seven Premier League games he's played under Graham Potter, they've only won two of them. And with the recent additions of, you know, Badia Shiela, if a fan is going to be coming back to fitness, I don't see him as a starter, but I do think he's a very, very good squad option, so I would definitely be keeping Chalobah. Next up is a man who, when I put this out on Twitter, really split opinions amongst Chelsea fans, Kalidou Koulibaly, who is not having a good season, and it seems like a bizarre signing now, doesn't it? It seems like a signing the current recruitment team definitely wouldn't make. Almost like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in style, I don't see where he fits in the future of Chelsea, but he's under a long-term contract, I don't see anybody taking him given his massive wages at Chelsea and the fact he's 31. He offers something, I'm going to keep him, I think they have to, they don't have a choice. That leaves three centre-backs then, we've got big Benoit Badia Shiela, of course he will be kept, seven-and-a-half-year contract he's signed. What is it with Chelsea in giving out these sort of seven-plus-year contracts, I don't really understand it, if I'm honest. If he doesn't work, then you're stuck with him, if he gets injured, you're stuck with him. I suppose the positive is if he turns out to be a huge superstar asset, then you get him on lower wages than you would across the course of a shorter-term contract, but it seems excessive. Seven-and-a-half years. That means you've got Levi Colwell who, following the signing of Badia Shiela, feels like a spare part. They're bringing in a left-footed, left-sided centre-back, which is what Levi Colwell is and he's currently operating at Brighton above Chelsea in the Premier League, so he's going to have to be loaned again. There's no choice there and they gave him a new contract before they loaned him out, didn't they? So I think that will be the case. As for Malang Sarr, who was deputising for Benoit Badia Shiela at Monaco, I mean he started four league-going games for the French side, he has to be sold now. He has to be sold. And that's fine, they picked him up for free, they're turning a profit on him at least. Those are the centre-back options. There's five of them there and they're all pretty solid and you've got Levi Colwell out on loan. The left-backs are easy, Ben Chilwell and Kukerea both being kept. Ben Chilwell is the better of the two, in my opinion, but he is also made of papier-mâché. Kukerea has taken a little bit of time to adapt, especially in the advanced areas, and it is quite interesting to see him play on a team where the expectation from the full-back in terms of attacking output is slightly higher. Chelsea's best player, Rhys James, obviously going to be kept as well. Just a freak of nature at 23 and I really hope for his sake he can stay fit more often because it's such a shame to see him out on the sidelines, he's so talented and without him in the side, it's just so noticeable. That leaves Cesar Azpilicueta, of course, he was the subject of interest from Barcelona in the summer, wasn't he? Now that deal collapsed and he has got a contract until 2024. If Barcelona came back in, I would be accepting it like that. I think this is the last time he can get any sort of fee. I do think it's a really upgradable area, that right-back slot for Chelsea. I think he's been a great servant and one of the Premier League's best bargain transfers ever. But I think in the summer, it is time to part ways and end it on good terms. Okay, we're moving into the midfield and I'm going to be honest, I think it's time to get ruthless here. It is time to get ruthless because there's so many players that either don't fit or are out of contract. Decisions have got to be made. We're going to start with Jorginho, for instance, who is on big money and he's out of contract in the summer. He's 31 years old. I wouldn't be offering him a new deal. I don't think he fits with the way Graham Potter wants to play football. I don't think he fits with the energy level needed in that midfield anymore. He's actually been pretty decent for Chelsea since he signed and obviously has won a Champions League and somehow finished so high in the Ballon d'Or it was eye-watering. But nevertheless, I think again, it's just time to part ways. I wouldn't be offering him a new deal on reduced terms for two or one year. I think it's just time to find a new midfield and the same can be said of N'Golo Kante. Two starts this season, Jorginho has put up I think 13-14, Kante 2. It's time to bite the bullet with N'Golo Kante. What a player he was, one of the Premier League's great midfielders, but the injuries have affected him now to such a level that it isn't working. I think it is time to bite the bullet, let him go, and I'm sure he'll go to Juventus or something like that and they'll manage to get some time out of him. But I think it's time to totally revamp the Chelsea midfield. As for Mateo Kovacic, I would be keeping him. I still think he is the best central midfielder in this Chelsea squad. Yes, he has significant injury problems. I've actually got his injury history up in front of me here. This is just page one. Not really good enough to be honest with you, but he's definitely good enough technically. He's only 28 years old, so three years younger than Kante and Jorginho. I just think you can't sell everyone in the midfield and for me, Kovacic, when he is fit, is exceptional, still. So I think of the three, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, it's quite easy to put your money behind the Croatian there. Whilst we're on the topic of ruthlessness, I think Ruben Loftus-Cheek would be in my sale column. He has, at times this season, looked like it was going to be the moment. He's going to break in. Yes, it's going to work for him and it's just kind of petered out yet again. I think for his career, for the good of his career, it'd be great to see him playing every single week in the Premier League at a slightly lower level side. And there's plenty of clubs that will be interested in taking Ruben Loftus-Cheek into their midfields. So I think you could probably get a little bit of a fee for him. Not a massive one, but a little bit of one, which is fine because he is an academy player and he'll be good there. More game time, more power to Ruben. This is where things start to get worrisome because I've put one midfielder in keep and I'm looking at the rest of these midfielders. Ampadu, Zakaria, Hall, Bakayoko, Kasadai. How many of these do they want to keep? We can get rid of Zakaria now, contract exit. I don't see that being made permanent by the club. The Telegraph article is bizarre. I'm going to put a little snip of it on screen now, but obviously the introduction between him and Thomas Tuchel when Thomas Tuchel didn't know who he was and wasn't aware they were signing him is bizarre. And let's be real, he's going to be going back to Juventus when the loan is up. I think Lewis Hall, when he had those two appearances against Manchester City and Newcastle looked great, but he is only 18. I think it's time for him to go out on loan and get some game time. The same can be said of Kasadai, who came in from Inter. Loan him out, let him have some game time. He was not brought in to have an instant impact on this first team, was he? Tiemo Bakayoko, what has happened here? What a disastrous move for all parties that two-year loan to AC Milan was. I think he's been in talks with them about what to do because he's not getting any game time. His value to Chelsea is just plummeting. You've got to sell him. You've got to sell him. 2024, his contract's up. This is the last summer you're going to get a chance to get any money for him. It's not worked. It's been a disaster. Got to try and get him off the books. Ethan Ampadu, who's been on multiple loans himself. I don't think he can go on another loan. His contract's until 2024. Again, this is the time to cash in on him, if you're going to cash in on him. And I think they probably should. I don't know where the future lies for Ethan Ampadu in that Chelsea midfield. He's kind of a half centre mid, defensive mid, half centre back. Again, I think like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, there will be suitors for him, if not in the Premier League. Definitely at the top of the championship. But that's not where Chelsea are operating. It's not where they're operating. My issue is, is that I literally have kept Kovacic in the entire Chelsea midfield, which speaks absolute volumes of the quality in there at the moment. It really does. I mean, Karnie Chukwemeka, we can put in the midfield, can't we? Because he should definitely be getting more game time, in my opinion. He was signed to have some impact on this first team. He left Aston Villa in order to get some more game time. And I think that was definitely promised to him when they sat down. I would like to see him having more impact under Graham Potter than just three-minute appearances. Just give him a go. What harm is there in giving him a go at this stage of the season? And that takes us kind of more into the attacking midfield areas, doesn't it? Mason Mount is an obvious keep. Let's not mess about. Mason Mount is an obvious keep. But I am worried about his contract, if I was a Chelsea fan. 2024, it's up. There's still nothing agreed there. And if you're Mason Mount, you're going to have good offers. He's going to have really good offers. It's going to have to be a really tempting contract to keep him at the club. Fortunately, I think they know that he's such a big Chelsea fan. He's come through the academy. He's going to want to stay, but he's going to have big offers from across Europe. And Chelsea need to regain some form quickly. He's not a player who's going to want to play outside the Champions League for that long. He really isn't. Next up, we've got Conor Gallagher. And because I haven't put anybody in the midfield, basically, I feel like I should be keeping him. I'm going to keep Conor Gallagher. But I think if an offer came in, I would be very open to selling Conor Gallagher. I think if Crystal Palace came in at like £25 million, I don't think it would be the worst option. He scored one league goal so far this season. He could be available. And one of the few probably, probably, properly sellable assets where you could get a decent fee for. So I'm going to say sell slash keep. But I'm going to keep him just because I've got no depth. If the right offer came in, though, happy to sell him. Omari Hutchinson, who is only 18, is out on loan. Get him some game time. I think the reason he left Arsenal was supposedly game time, but he's seen none at Chelsea, really. So, yeah, get him out on loan. Get him to the championship. Let's see what we can do. Christian Pulisic, sell. Output has not been good enough this season. It really hasn't. It's time to go. Time to cut your losses. I think Christian Pulisic needs a fresh start for the sake of his career as well. Maybe it's back to Germany, maybe it's to Spain or France or something like that. But he needs a fresh start because the player that arrived at Chelsea, the hyper talented Borussia Dortmund wonderkid is not the player we're seeing now. I think it's just time and best if both parties kind of separated. And you could say the same for Hakim Ziyech. Hakim Ziyech is 30 now. Both these players are under contract till 2024. It's the last chance you're going to get to get any sort of money for them. If you can get a fee for Ziyech from a club like AC Milan who are looking for an upgrade on that right wing area, I think it's worth it. Raheem Sterling is an obvious keep. £50 million outlay. He won't be happy with his output this season. I'm sure of that. I'm not convinced he'll be happy of his role under Graham Potter, where he's played everywhere from left wing back to left wing to right wing to through the middle. That needs to be sorted because Raheem Sterling, when he's at his best, is one of the best forwards in the league. And we just haven't seen Air Chelsea this season. Callum Hudson-Odoi is up next. I don't know what to do about Callum Hudson-Odoi. You know, the wingers that Chelsea have and are bringing in, they're looking to bring in Mudrick, you know, and Kunku is already joining in the summer. Callum Hudson-Odoi must be worried about his place. 550 minutes of Bundesliga action. He hasn't scored a goal. Hasn't had a huge impact on that Bayer Leverkusen side. As much of an impact as he would have hoped to have anyway. Again, I would probably sell if the right offer came in. If a club came in with a solid fee like Bayern Munich did a few years ago, not that I can see that happening, then I think it would be a smart move to get some money through the door that you can then spend on a winger that Graeme Potter definitely wants. The only caveat to this is that Graeme Potter didn't work with Callum Hudson-Odoi at any stage. So he might want to see him over pre-season, see what he's like, see the position he thinks he's best in and then go from there. But otherwise, I'm looking at these names in the sell column. I'm not seeing many actually sellable assets. There's lots of players on big money. Who's picking them up? I think Callum Hudson-Odoi might be one of the players that you could find a suitor for. As for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, you are basically stuck with him at this stage, 33 years of age, under contract until 2024 as well. So you've got a whole nother season of him. They've basically got an arsenal on their hands here where Arsenal couldn't find anyone to buy them. Everybody's watched the documentary knows that Barcelona came in in the last second of the last day of the transfer window to kind of rescue him. I don't see that happening again now. He's 33 and hasn't been performing all season. I suppose the best they could hope for is maybe a Saudi Arabian club come in, a Turkish club come in and willing to pay his wages and MLS side come in and willing to pay his wages. Because I don't see a top European club coming in and paying those wages. And they are big. Nevertheless, you've got to try and get rid. Kai Havertz I'm still keeping and I'm still having. He's only 23 years old. And I do still think there's a really good player in there. Yes, his output needs to improve. But we can all tell that there's a very technically gifted player in that Chelsea side, in that forward line. It's the role he's playing in that forward line that I don't quite get. And I don't think he quite gets. That needs to be locked down. And his output needs to improve from that position. But if it does, and it might well, he's only 23. They've definitely got a star on their hands. It's just not quite working as the number nine. Armando Brozier, obviously going to be keeping him, but he is out for a year. I just don't see anybody able to buy him effectively. David Datro Fafana because of the injury to Armando Brozier might have to be kept, honestly. Otherwise, they're really short. They'll have Nkunku up there. They'll have Sterling up there, Havertz up there. But none of these guys are actual strikers. David Datro Fafana at least is. I'm sure they'll try and sign a striker in the summer. But if they do, then I drop him down to loan. And then the final guy is Romelu Lukaku, who has to be sold. He's not going to be sold because nobody's going to pay the wages or the fee. He's going to be loaned again. Let's have it absolutely right. He will be in this column here loaned. But you've got to try and sell him. You've got to do all you can to sell him. Overall, though, it is a stark picture. I don't know how this has happened. This squad building has happened for a club that spent 290 million euros in the summer. And the squad has come out like this. It's so mismatched. On paper, there's like one midfielder to keep in the deep position. That's Mateo Kovacic. There's not really a striker. The wingers seem a bit muddled. They're OK in the left back slot. They need a right back. They're OK at centre back. It's all a bit bizarre, isn't it? It is a bit bizarre. And Enzo Fernandez doesn't fix all of these problems. They need other options in that midfield area. And the budget is surely going to be stretched. But Chelsea fans want to hear from you guys at home. What do you make of this Chelsea squad? I know when I put this tweet out, a lot of players were getting an awful lot of stick, but I just can't believe the mismatch of the squad. So, yeah, let me know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, hit the like button, hit subscribe. Thanks very much for watching. We'll catch you later. Bye.