A Chelsea player has now agreed personal terms on a three-year contract to leave Stamford Bridge, and it's a deal which will see his wages cut by more-than half.
Players who could leave Chelsea before deadline day
Out-of-favour defender Malang Sarr is now set to be the latest man on his way out of west London, as both French newspaper L'Equipe and reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano shared on Monday.
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Sarr, who Chelsea signed on a free transfer from OGC Nice in 2020, has gone on to make just 21 appearances for the club in all competitions. The Frenchman didn't make a single cameo last season after spending the 22/23 campaign on loan at Monaco, so the writing has been on the wall for quite some time.
Chelsea and the 25-year-old have mutually agreed to terminate his £120,000-per-week contract, which was due to expire next year, and Sarr is now on the way back to Ligue 1 with RC Lens.
Sarr joins Ian Maatsen, Omari Hutchinson, Lewis Hall, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva in leaving Chelsea – with many more names tipped to follow.
Cole Palmer
7.48
Conor Gallagher
7.13
Nicolas Jackson
7.07
Moises Caicedo
6.85
Noni Madueke
6.84
Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka and Conor Gallagher have also been linked with high-profile Chelsea exits in the last few weeks, but the name who Todd Boehly will be most eager to sell is striker Romelu Lukaku.
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have been tasked with finding a permanent new home for the Belgium legend, who cost the Blues £98 million to re-sign from Inter Milan in 2021.
Both Napoli and AC Milan have been chasing a deal for Lukaku, according to reports in the last few weeks, and the player appears destined for a return to Serie A yet again.
Lukaku has been surplus to requirements for the last two years, having spent 22/23 on a temporary stint back at Inter and 23/24 on loan at Roma. The 31-year-old scored plenty of goals in that period, so there may be some hope within Chelsea that a club is willing to pay his £38 million asking price.
Lukaku agrees personal terms on £89,000-per-week Napoli contract
According to GiveMeSport, there has been some headway made in regard to his possible departure, as Antonio Conte moves to reunite with his former star.
Lukaku has agreed personal terms on a three-year contract at Napoli, as per the outlet and journalist Ben Jacobs, and it is a move which will see the forward's salary cut by more than half. He's said to have given the green-light on a £89,000-per-week deal, a huge mark-down from what GMS claim are his current £208,000-per-week wages at Chelsea.
Napoli's move is being driven by their new sporting director, Giovanni Manna, who has apparently offered £21 million. Chelsea, however, are standing firm on their £38m valuation and have no plans to let their "complete" centre-forward leave on the cheap.
