3 players Xabi must sell now

Chelsea transfer exit: Three players Xabi Alonso must sell without delay

A Chelsea transfer exit for at least three players this summer isn’t just desirable. It’s necessary. Xabi Alonso took the reins at Stamford Bridge on 1st July 2026 on a four-year contract, inheriting a squad that finished a wretched 10th in the Premier League last season, outside European football entirely. The rebuild has to start somewhere, and trimming the fat is step one.

Here are the three players he must cash in on without delay.

1. Enzo Fernández — £120m and good riddance

The writing isn’t just on the wall with Enzo Fernández. It’s been spray-painted on it, underlined twice, and signed. According to ESPN and multiple reports from England, the Argentine midfielder has already told Chelsea he wants out this summer, with Real Madrid his stated preference. His agent, former Argentina international Javier Pastore, confirmed to Spanish outlet Marca that his client is “looking at possibilities to leave Chelsea,” while also making little effort to hide his fondness for Madrid, telling the publication: “Who doesn’t love Madrid? I didn’t even play in Madrid.”

Chelsea suspended Fernández for two matches back in April after he openly flirted with a move to the Spanish capital during a YouTube interview. He apologised, wore the captain’s armband, then did precisely nothing to put the matter to bed.

In his three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, Fernández signed for a then-record £106.8m, scored 31 goals and registered 30 assists across 169 appearances in all competitions. Decent numbers, but not enough to justify the baggage that now follows him everywhere. Chelsea’s asking price has been communicated to all interested parties: €120 million, exactly what they paid Benfica in 2023. Real Madrid want him badly but have baulked at that figure, with financial commitments elsewhere making it a stretch. PSG and Manchester City lurk as alternatives.

Sell him. Take the €120m. Don’t negotiate yourself down.

2. Liam Delap — a £30m gamble that hasn’t paid off

Delap arrived at Chelsea last summer for £30m from Ipswich Town with genuine hype attached. He’d scored 12 Premier League goals for a relegated side, forced his way into England’s youth conversations, and looked every inch a striker ready for the next step. That step, unfortunately, led straight off a cliff.

The 23-year-old managed just two goals in 41 appearances across all competitions in his debut season at Stamford Bridge. His FotMob average rating of 6.3 across 1,008 league minutes, alongside three yellow cards and zero assists, shows how much he has struggled to find his feet in London. Joao Pedro, arriving from Brighton in the same window, simply eclipsed him. The Brazilian delivered 20 goals in 2025-26, leaving Delap’s contributions looking threadbare by comparison.

TEAMtalk reports that Chelsea have set an asking price of at least £40m for Delap, though sources suggest clubs could land him for closer to £30m as the window progresses. Newcastle United and Everton are the frontrunners. Everton, who had long tracked Delap during his time at Ipswich, are currently leading the race with manager David Moyes looking to bolster his frontline.

Alonso doesn’t need a confused striker low on confidence, eating up wages and blocking better options. Move him on now, while there’s still a market.

3. Axel Disasi — a £38.5m asset going nowhere fast

Disasi’s Chelsea career reads like a cautionary tale about the club’s chronic mismanagement over the past three seasons. The Frenchman, who joined Chelsea from Monaco for £38.5m in August 2023, spent the first half of 2025-26 frozen out entirely before completing a loan move to West Ham United in February 2026. He proved his quality at the London Stadium immediately, helping the Hammers keep five clean sheets in the period following his debut.

With Disasi now back at Chelsea following West Ham‘s relegation, the club have made clear he is available for £20m. That’s a significant markdown on what Chelsea paid, but keeping him serves no practical purpose. Disasi managed 1,255 minutes of Premier League football across the season with an average FotMob rating of 6.54, a fringe figure at best, and one whose relationship with the club is irreparably damaged after months spent in what he described as a “bomb squad.”

FootballTransfers reports that Disasi is almost guaranteed to be sold this summer, with Chelsea eager to offload surplus defenders ahead of next season. At 28, he has good years left. Some club will take him, and Chelsea should let them without hesitation.

Read: Chelsea Striker Deal – Forward completes transfer after latest developments

The money raised, potentially north of £170m in a best-case scenario, funds the rebuild. Getting this right matters enormously.