{"id":15722,"date":"2026-07-09T11:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=15722"},"modified":"2026-07-09T11:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:55:15","slug":"3-players-xabi-must-sell-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=15722","title":{"rendered":"3 players Xabi must sell now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-lazyloaded=\"1\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-696x392.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-696x392.webp 696w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-746x420.webp 746w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2-1068x601.webp 1068w, https:\/\/scorzo.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Xabi_V2.webp 1672w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" alt=\"\" title=\"Xabi_V2\"\/><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chelsea transfer exit: Three players Xabi Alonso must sell without delay<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Chelsea transfer exit for at least three players this summer isn\u2019t just desirable. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are the three players he must cash in on without delay.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez \u2014 \u00a3120m and good riddance<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The writing isn\u2019t just on the wall with Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez. It\u2019s 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 \u201clooking at possibilities to leave Chelsea,\u201d while also making little effort to hide his fondness for Madrid, telling the publication: \u201cWho doesn\u2019t love Madrid? I didn\u2019t even play in Madrid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chelsea suspended Fern\u00e1ndez 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\u2019s armband, then did precisely nothing to put the matter to bed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, Fern\u00e1ndez signed for a then-record \u00a3106.8m, 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\u2019s asking price has been communicated to all interested parties: \u20ac120 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sell him. Take the \u20ac120m. Don\u2019t negotiate yourself down.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Liam Delap \u2014 a \u00a330m gamble that hasn\u2019t paid off<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Delap arrived at Chelsea last summer for \u00a330m from Ipswich Town with genuine hype attached. He\u2019d scored 12 Premier League goals for a relegated side, forced his way into England\u2019s youth conversations, and looked every inch a striker ready for the next step. That step, unfortunately, led straight off a cliff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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\u2019s contributions looking threadbare by comparison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TEAMtalk reports that Chelsea have set an asking price of at least \u00a340m for Delap, though sources suggest clubs could land him for closer to \u00a330m 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alonso doesn\u2019t need a confused striker low on confidence, eating up wages and blocking better options. Move him on now, while there\u2019s still a market.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Axel Disasi \u2014 a \u00a338.5m asset going nowhere fast<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Disasi\u2019s Chelsea career reads like a cautionary tale about the club\u2019s chronic mismanagement over the past three seasons. The Frenchman, who joined Chelsea from Monaco for \u00a338.5m 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Disasi now back at Chelsea following\u00a0West Ham\u2018s relegation, the club have made clear he is available for \u00a320m. That\u2019s 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 \u201cbomb squad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read: Chelsea Striker Deal \u2013 Forward completes transfer after latest developments<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The money raised, potentially north of \u00a3170m in a best-case scenario, funds the rebuild. Getting this right matters enormously.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Chelsea Stories from Scorzo<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXo9vy6CHTm\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea transfer exit: Three players Xabi Alonso must sell without delay A Chelsea transfer exit&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}