Revealed: The 15 Chelsea players who could be sold as part of mass Mauricio Pochettino overhaul

Chelsea can officially begin their clear-out on June 14 when the summer transfer window opens next month, with Mauricio Pochettino beginning to make decisions on his squad.

After a disappointing 2022/23 campaign which saw Chelsea finish 12th in the Premier League, the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership will want to avoid a repeat of that next term.

Plans are well underway to prepare for the 2023/24 season, with the first big call in place: the confirmation of Pochettino’s head coach appointment, starting from July 1, coming on Monday.

Pochettino, who has signed an initial two-year deal in west London, with the club having the option to extend by a further year, has already begun work on his squad prior to returning to pre-season in July.

Chelsea are looking to make a handful of additions to their squad – a goalkeeper, a midfielder and a striker – but their priority is to reduce the numbers and trim the bloated 30-plus man squad, which will welcome Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Andrey Santos, Christopher Nkunku and others back into the first-team squad.

As reported by Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mail, Pochettino ‘is looking at moving on up to 15 out-of-favour Chelsea stars’. Those players who could depart this summer are:

• Edouard Mendy
• Trevoh Chalobah
• Kalidou Koulibaly
• Cesar Azpilicueta
• N’Golo Kante
• Mateo Kovacic
• Denis Zakaria
• Conor Gallagher

• Ruben Loftus-Cheek
• Mason Mount
• Joao Felix – confirmed by Atletico Madrid
• Hakim Ziyech
• Christian Pulisic
• Callum Hudson-Odoi
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Joao Felix was the first departure to be confirmed. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo said on Tuesday: “Yesterday (Monday) we had the news that the new Chelsea manager does not (want) Felix. We’ve known for less than 24 hours. He’ll come back here and we’ll see. We don’t have anything planned.”

Denis Zakaria will also leave, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, and return to Juventus following his loan spell.

It’s claimed by Adrian Kajumba that Chelsea ‘hope that well over 10 players will go’ to ease the bloated squad.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy and Callum Hudson-Odoi are expected to move on, it’s reported, while interest is being shown in Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Mason Mount is the subject of interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. However, Pochettino wants to keep hold of the England international, with talks over a new contract yet to resume. N’Golo Kante’s future is uncertain due to the Frenchman being out of contract next month.

The futures of Kalidou Koulibaly and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta are also reportedly unclear ahead of the summer window.

It’s going to be a busy summer for Chelsea and Pochettino as they look to get their squad ready before and during pre-season, which sees them head to the United States for their pre-season tour.