Chelsea ready to cash in on £20m star in January

Chelsea are willing to offload Carney Chukwuemeka in January amid interest from Ipswich Town

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has some thinking to do ahead of the January transfer window. The transfer market reopens in just over six weeks and the Pensioners could certainly do with some new acquisitions.

Outgoings are also expected to be on the cards at Stamford Bridge and, according to a report from TEAMtalk, Chelsea are willing to sell Carney Chukwuemeka amid interest from newly promoted Ipswich Town.

Carney Chukwuemeka came up through the ranks at Aston Villa. After impressing in the youth ranks, he got promoted to the senior Aston Villa side in 2021. On the back of his performances for the senior Villa side, Chelsea signed the former England under-20 international in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth £20m.

However, things have not gone as per the plans for Chukwuemeka since arriving at Stamford Bridge. The midfielder spent the majority of the 2023/24 season on the sidelines and seems to have gone way down the pecking order under new boss Enzo Maresca. With Maresca preferring the double pivot of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in midfield, the 21-year-old has become surplus to requirements.

The aforementioned report adds the Italian tactician wants to move on Chukwuemeka to facilitate the signing of a central defender in January. The Blues have started the new season very well and sit third in the table. They want to capitalise on a strong start by strengthening the squad during the winter window, with a central defender at the top of Maresca’s priority list.

Chukwuemeka appears to have no future at Chelsea, with the likes of Caicedo, Lavia, Fernandez and Palmer all ahead of him. He has been viewed as a ‘sellable asset’ by the West London club’s chiefs after his importance to his importance to Maresca’s side has reduced.

Their stance has alerted Ipswich Town, who have enquired about a potential move as they would be keen to add the young midfielder to their squad. Kieran McKenna’s side are battling to maintain their top-flight status and following their shock win over Spurs last weekend find themselves in 17th place at present, just one point off the drop zone.

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Ipswich aren’t the only side keeping tabs on Chukwuemeka, some Serie A clubs including AC Milan are also circling. The Blues were asking around £40m for the Englishman in the previous transfer window but will have to settle way below that mark in January if they are to permanently move Chukwuemeka off their accounts.