Ciaran Morrison

Thu 5 March 2026 17:00, UK

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Chelsea will have to sell players in the summer transfer window after making a huge financial loss.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after Chelsea recorded a pre-tax loss of £342million in figures released by UEFA.

Revenue has not been keeping up with costs at the Premier League club, with BlueCo having spent over £1billion since taking control in 2022.

Chelsea’s transfer spend last summer was over £300m, and the Blues are currently fighting to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Chelsea in ‘very concerning’ position

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs  – believes Chelsea will be “very active” in the summer window.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks the club will still buy players, but it will have be balanced out by departures.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “That’s the highest ever loss that I’ve seen from any Premier League club. So it is very concerning.

“The other thing that they’ve done is, don’t forget, apart from the Club World Cup was the hotels. They did the transfer of the hotels and the women’s team as well. So those are things that are no longer repeatable. So let’s get that straight.

“And so it could be even looked at worse than what it actually is now, because you can’t really keep finding things like that. So what they’re coming down to, I think, is a huge reliance on player trading.

“Now, there’s no doubt they’ve got quality players, and they have got on the squad roster players that they could sell at a premium. But they’re going to have to be very active in this market to start making up the sort of gaps we’re starting to see appearing between revenue and cost. 

“So I’m expecting Chelsea to be in overdrive right now about player sales in the summer. And not saying that they’re going to have to sell and not buy. I think they will, but there’s going to have to be some juggling and there’s going to have to be a net spend that is workable to help fill that gap. 

“So it’s pointing to the fact that they’re putting all their eggs in the player trading basket now.”  

Chelsea could sanction sale of two stars

Sources have told Football Insider that Aston Villa could look to sign Nicolas Jackson in the summer when his loan deal from Bayern Munich expires.

Jackson could also join Liam Delap out of Stamford Bridge, with the 23-year-old linked with a move to Everton.

Chelsea may not stand in the way of either player leaving, with both strikers having struggled for goals at the club, and with Joao Pedro the number one choice up-front.