By Kieran Maguire

11th May, 2023 | 1:36pm

Kieran Maguire: Chelsea could be forced into triple sale as major deal expires

Chelsea may have to raise funds through player sales this summer to make up for their lack of a shirt sponsor deal.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Chelsea’s commercial issues this summer.

Football Insider sources revealed last Wednesday (May 3) that Chelsea will be forced to accept a lowball offer for their new front-of-shirt deal.

The Blues were previously partnered with Three, but their £40million-a-year deal is set to expire this summer, leaving the London club with little time to find a new sponsor.

It is now expected that Chelsea will sign a heavily incentivised deal for their next sponsorship, with their lack of European football weakening their negotiating position.

Chelsea are also set to sign a new shirt sleeve deal after their partnership with Whalefin was terminated in December.

Maguire insists that the lack of sponsorship agreements is not a ‘critical issue’ at Stamford Bridge as they can make up for lost funds through player sales.

“I believe Chelsea will be fairly relaxed about signing a new front-of-shirt and sleeve sponsor,” Maguire told Football Insider.

“There will be one in place, and the current deals expire at present on 30 June so in terms of cash flow, I think Todd Boehly and his group will be quite calm.

“It is more important than ever to get the best people in to become commercial partners, but Chelsea only have to sell the likes of Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi and they have made money equal to a front-of-shirt deal.

“So, I think Chelsea would prefer to get the deal sorted sooner rather than later but it’s not a critical issue.“

In other news, incoming Chelsea manager wants Paul Mitchell deal agreed before signing