Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso appears to have made it very clear that the club will sell defenders this summer, with Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, and Trevoh Chalobah reported to be up for sale.

The Spanish tactician only recently took over as Blues boss, but he’s inherited a struggling squad full of deadwood that could do with some shifting.

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According to BBC Sport, Chelsea are open to letting go of Disasi, Badiashile, and Chalobah, while they also quote Alonso as making it clear he’d like to trim down his options in that position.

When asked how many defenders Alonso would like to have, he said four or five, and he currently has a lot more than that.

Chelsea’s bloated defence

The BBC report notes that Chelsea currently have six main centre-backs, with Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Aaron Anselmino in his pre-season squad.

You can add new signing Maxence Lacroix to that list, so that’s already more than Alonso would ideally like, meaning the writing is surely on the wall for Disasi, Badiashile, and Chalobah.

CFC fans will hope this can be settled soon, as some player sales could also be important to help the club fund further new additions.

What other changes do Chelsea need this summer?

Chelsea have done well to seal the exciting signings of proven big names like Morgan Rogers and Lacroix, but there are surely still other areas where the club could improve.

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Joao Pedro looks like an ideal first-choice up front, but Alonso perhaps lacks depth behind him, with Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson surely nowhere near good enough.

Chelsea are also expected to bid again for Alex Scott, and it could be smart to make some changes in midfield after some slightly inconsistent performances from the seemingly unsettled Enzo Fernandez.