Chelsea are facing a transfer dilemma after outcast Ben Chilwell reportedly refused to take a pay cut to aid a possible January exit.
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca wants to get rid of the 28-year-old left-back this month but the club are very much struggling to offload him.
With the January transfer window now open, Chelsea were hoping that Chilwell would take a pay cut on his £190k-a-week wages to help with a potential sale.
But according to The Sun, Chilwell is unwilling to agree to a pay cut in a big transfer blow for the west Londoners.
Chilwell’s stance means Chelsea may end up having to hand the English star a huge severance deal – or heavily subsidise a loan to another club.
Maresca told Chilwell last summer that he was surplus to requirements, and he has played just 45 minutes of football so far this campaign, which came in the 5-0 Carabao Cup win over Barrow AFC in September.
Speaking last month, Maresca admitted that he expected Chilwell to ask for a January exit given his lack of playing time at Stamford Bridge.
‘There are players that unfortunately didn’t play a lot with us in all the competitions like Chilwell, like Carney,’ the Chelsea boss said.
‘Probably they are the first [to say] that they want to leave because they train every day, because they want to play games.’
Chilwell wasn’t even registered for Chelsea’s Conference League squad this term, where Maresca has essentially been fielding a B side thus far.
Under contract until the summer of 2027, Chelsea signed Chilwell from Leicester City in a £50m deal in August 2020.
He has played a total of 107 games for the Blues to date, registering 12 assists and nine goals.
Chilwell helped Chelsea clinch the Champions League trophy in 2021 under former boss Thomas Tuchel.
