After confirming the signings of Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro, Chelsea appear to be prioritising player sales right now.

Enzo Maresca's side recently sealed deals for both men at an initial cost of around £55 million each, coming after their £30 million transfer of Liam Delap from earlier in the window, which takes their summer expenditure to around £140 million.

Taking their recent UEFA fine into account, with Chelsea charged by the governing body last week for breaking FFP rules, there is now a glaring need for BlueCo to balance the books and offload surplus players before deadline day on September 1.

There are many candidates for the Stamford Bridge exit door, and if Maresca's side have their way, they could raise millions.

The departures of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys and Marcus Bettinelli have already brought in around £19 million, but the likes of Lesley Ugochukwu, João Félix, Renato Veiga, Ben Chilwell, David Datro Fofana, Armando Broja, Axel Disasi, Carney Chukwuemeka, Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke could all follow them.

Arsenal have already agreed personal terms with Madueke in particular, and reports suggest that the Gunners are locked in talks with Chelsea over a potential £43 million deal, which could be done "by the end of this week" (ESPN).

Chelsea could also look to trim their backlog of goalkeepers further, with Serbia international Djordje Petrovic attracting plenty of interest after a productive season-long loan at sister club Strasbourg last year.

The Ligue 1 side's head coach, Liam Rosenier, called Petrovic a "world-class" player and hailed his performances in France across 2024/2025, but he doesn't appear to have a long-term future at Chelsea.

Djordje Petrovic reaches 'gentleman's agreement' to leave Chelsea

Sky Switzerland reporter Sacha Tavolieri stated recently that Sunderland were in advanced talks to sign Petrovic, but this appears wide of the mark for now.

In a further update on the player's future, via The Athletic's deal sheet, journalist Simon Johnson notes that many clubs are indeed after the Serb - and he's available for just £25 million.

This is due to a 'gentleman's agreement' between Petrovic and Chelsea that he can leave for that price, despite him still having five years remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Interestingly, another reliable reporter, Simon Phillips, stated earlier in this window that "many" interested sides are blowing up his representative's phone - so Chelsea appear extremely likely to find a suitable buyer.

"On Petrovic’s side, he is 25-years-old now and will turn 26 early in the winter. He does not want to play second fiddle, and he knows if he stays at Chelsea then there is no guarantee that he will be a regular starter," said Phillips, via his Substack.

"So he also wants to leave the club if he cannot be guaranteed this.

"Right now, both parties want the same thing and that is for Petrovic to move on this summer, and I’d be very surprised at this point if he’s not sold this summer. He has many clubs phoning his agent right now to ask about a move."