Chelsea are doing well under Enzo Maresca. Sunday’s draw against Manchester United in the Premier League was an unspectacular affair, though Moises Caicedo’s stunning volley to salvage a point was a thing to be witnessed.
Things are starting to come together for the fourth-placed Blues, who are making headway and firmly in the battle for a top-four finish – fans will also be hopeful of a trophy push in either the FA Cup or Conference League.
The squad is improving, and that’s largely down to a fresh concerted approach to transfer dealings. Undeniably, the Blues have spent handsomely on first-team additions, but formerly exorbitant wage packets have been whittled down.
Chelsea's streamlined salaries
Chelsea have kept their new players’ salaries under wraps of late – at least, more so than before. Take this summer’s influx, for example.
Pedro Neto joined for a £54m fee, hefty. However, the Portugal winger earns £160k per week. Moreover, Joao Felix’s £170k-per-week contract feels like a sufficient amount for a player of pedigree and, still, potential.
A better example would be that of Cole Palmer’s contract. Declared to be “the best player in the Premier League” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, the 22-year-old has scored 32 goals and added 20 assists across 52 matches for Chelsea, joining from Manchester City as a prospect of the relative unknown last summer.
He might have signed in a deal worth £42.5m, a reflection of the sparsely-used Manchester City starlet’s potential, but he was hardly offered a salary to align with that of Chelsea’s top earners – and rightly so.
Even now, after his incredible maiden campaign, Palmer is still taking home comparatively modest earnings. Last year, the England international earned £70k per week. Now, a bumper new deal has lifted this to £130k per week.
He won’t be complaining, but this is still some way below some of the older members of the west London squad. Look at it this way: Chelsea bosses are starting to bring the wages down; had Palmer’s rise occurred two years earlier, you can bet your bottom dollar that the club would have paid through the nose to entice the attacking midfielder to renew his terms.
1.
Raheem Sterling
£325k-per-week
2.
Reece James
£250k-per-week
2=
Jadon Sancho
£250k-per-week
4.
Ben Chilwell
£200k-per-week
4=
Wesley Fofana
£200k-per-week
The table above illuminates the errors of past ways. Reece James’ pay is expected, deserved, with injuries the only thing keeping the captain from world-class recognition across the globe. Ben Chilwell, conversely, plays a bit part in Maresca’s team, though Wesley Fofana is at least starting to prove his worth after a few frustrating, injury-affected seasons.
Chelsea have Jadon Sancho on loan from Manchester United with an obligation to buy him next year but are only covering a proportion of his gargantuan wages. If the deal goes through permanently, he will perform on a lower base salary.
Chelsea must permanently axe high-earner
The same can be said for Raheem Sterling, who is on loan at Arsenal after being ousted from Maresca’s squad. Even with the Gunners covering a sum of the England star’s wages, less than 50%, he must be sold for good in 2025.
Sterling was part of the Clearlake wave of incomings, with Chelsea signing the Manchester City winger in a deal worth £47.5m in 2022. Thomas Tuchel revealed that he was the club’s number one transfer priority.
Sterling has led an illustrious career in the Premier League, having posted 123 goals and 62 assists across 383 appearances in the top flight, winning the thing four times.
Chelsea struggled throughout his first year, and so too did Sterling fail to reach the heights he hit under Pep Guardiola. Albeit, the 29-year-old hit nine goals and four assists across 38 matches, a modest return.
Notching 18 goal contributions from 43 games under Mauricio Pochettino, Sterling is clearly still a player of high quality, but he’s not what Maresca wants and he was shooed out for the good of the project. It’s a tough business but the game, to be sure, is the game.
With the likes of Neto, Felix and Sancho brought in to complement a rich and varied attacking line, his leave was the right thing. But now, Sterling must be sold, even if Arsenal do not move to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Sterling has only scored against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup this term, having started just twice in the Premier League and sat on the bench, unused, over the past two weeks.
When he returns to Chelsea, Todd Boehly will absorb the whole of his pay packet once more, and he will drain the club of more financial resources than any other player. Come on, he’s taking home a significantly higher wage than Palmer, and that simply can’t be justified.
In fairness, Maresca has planted seeds that could take several years to grow, but he surely won’t be dislodged from the manager’s seat unless something shockingly unforeseen occurs. As such, it’s hard to conceive of a Stamford Bridge future that features Sterling in Chelsea blue.
Unfortunately for the experienced winger, his early-stage efforts at the Emirates have indeed done little to suggest that he will find a permanent place in Mikel Arteta’s project.
Nonetheless, there’s a suitor out there that would snap the Three Lions stalwart up in a heartbeat, and whatever the outcome, he mustn’t be plying his trade at Chelsea next season.
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