Mason Mount heads list of eight stars facing axe in Chelsea clearout as Todd Boehly introduces new transfer policy

CHELSEA are looking to offload EIGHT players to claw back some money after their transfer binge.

Owner Todd Boehly has spent over £600MILLION on new players since buying the club from Roman Abramovich at the start of the season.

Despite the American’s crazy investment, the Blues have slumped into the bottom half of the Premier League.

And Tuesday’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid ended all hope of a successful season.

Now, Boehly is ready to introduce a new transfer policy to drag his side back towards the top of the table.

And it could see a radically different squad at Stamford Bridge next campaign.

According to the Times, any player in the final two years of their deal will be given two options: sign or sell.

This means uncertainty surrounds a large number of players in the squad – with England star and boyhood Blue Mason Mount the most high-profile.

And whoever takes over as boss in the summer will have a job on their hands to balance the books as well as reduce the bloated dressing room of 30-plus players.

Chelsea must sell by June 30 to keep in line with FFP rules, even though they will not be in European competition next season.

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Mount will top of a list of potential exits, with his contract set to run out next summer.

He has been linked with a move to Premier League rivals Liverpool, who are looking for midfielders.

However, Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal have also been linked.

Hakim Ziyech is also set to leave, having been close to joining Paris Saint-German in the winter.

Only a late submission of papers caused the move to collapse on deadline day.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is another destined to exit, having been linked with a move back to Barcelona.

While the futures of Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Cesar Azpilicueta are also uncertain, with all of their contracts expiring next year.

Midfielder N’Golo Kante’s contract also ands this summer after a frustrating season of injuries.

All these changes will be a challenging task for a team without a permanent head coach in place.

Julian Nagelsmann reportedly dropped out of the race to the new boss on Friday, leaving ex-Tottenham chief Mauricio Pochettino as favourite.

While SunSport understands Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is also in the running.

Interim boss Lampard has struggled in the role, with the team losing four matches in a row under his watch – setting a new record as the first manager to lose each of their first four matches in charge of Chelsea.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk