Ben Chilwell has been re-integrated into Chelsea’s first-team training however, the England international looks all set to leave during the January transfer window.
According to a report in The Sun, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town are both monitoring Chilwell and both of them are expecting to make an attempt to sign and sign the left-back during the middle of the season.
Chelsea had paid around €50 million for Ben Chilwell in 2020 but the former Leicester City defender has found it hard to become a first-team regular. He has picked up multiple injuries over the years and clearly Enzo Maresca does not see him in his long-term plans.
Will Ben Chilwell leave Chelsea in January?
The new Chelsea manager has Marc Cucurella as his first-choice option and the club has signed Renato Veiga as his backup. This means Ben Chilwell is currently the third-choice left-back.
Chilwell knows very well that he is not going to get game time at Chelsea this season and among the two interested clubs, a move to Crystal Palace will make a lot of sense for the 27-year-old.
The left-back is earning around €240,000 per week at Stamford Bridge and if he wants to leave in January, he will definitely have to take a massive pay cut because neither Palace nor Ipswich will pay such a premium salary.
As for Chelsea, they have signed a ton of players during the summer window and to avoid a major FFP breach the Blues will now have to offload players. They have sold Lukaku, Conor Gallagher and Lewis Hall for a significant amount of money and if they can get Ben Chilwell off their books, it will be a big help.
Marc Cucurella has been great this season so it makes no sense to keep Ben Chilwell in the squad. The 27-year-old is currently valued at €28 million and if Palace or Ipswich Town can put in an offer of around €30-35 million, it will be enough for Maresca to green-light an exit.
