Chelsea's 2025 summer transfer window priorities: Upgrade the goalkeeper, hold onto Enzo Fernandez & trim the fat from Enzo Maresca's bloated squad

It had been abundantly clear for some time that Chelsea needed a new, consistent striker. And if you believe what you read in the gossip columns, it seems the penny has finally dropped for the Blues' hierarchy, with a host of No.9s linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

The club has already moved to remedy that problem area by triggering Delap's £30m release clause to sign him from Ipswich ahead of the Club World Cup, and it seems likely another centre-forward will be brought in before the summer is out

It remains to be seen which direction they will go in, but the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike and RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko figure most prominently on their shortlist. Either of them would likely be another upgrade on Nicolas Jackson, and they both fit within the recent policy of signing high-potential young players. What that would mean for Jackson, though, is another question.

As the season wore on, it became increasingly clear that central midfield is probably the most settled area of the pitch for Chelsea, with Moises Caicedo at the base, Enzo Fernandez as the No.8 and Cole Palmer deployed as an attacking midfielder. All of them were near ever-present, and the west Londoners cannot afford that core to be disrupted amid reported transfer interest from elsewhere.

Namely, that surrounds Fernandez, who finally started to show his best form in a Chelsea shirt in 2024-25, improving with every passing game and emerging as a much-needed leader in the young squad. The idea of selling him at this stage, then, would be completely unpalatable to the Blues fanbase. But amid murmurs that Real Madrid are circling, Chelsea will know they are in dangerous waters.

It has been reported that the Premier League club has no plans to sell a player they value at more than the £107 million ($138m) they paid in 2023, but when Madrid want something, they usually get it. The Premier League club will, then, have to repel Los Blancos' magnetic pull.

For what it's worth, Maresca has already shut down the transfer talk, responding when asked if Fernandez would be staying at Chelsea: "Yes. It’s a main player for us. He’s one of the captains, he’s one of the leaders. This season he has been very good. He can be even better next season, starting from the first day. Nothing to say about speculation. His focus is on us and this is the most important thing."

There are, though, plenty of other players that Chelsea should be moving on as soon as the window opens. There are at least 15 senior squad members who should, in theory, be on the chopping block - including failed recent signings Christopher Nkunku, Felix, Benoit Badiashile and Dewsbury-Hall.

Indeed, such is the number of players the club could cut loose that the incoming transfer fees could go some way to funding the Blues' summer signings, with a goalkeeper, full-back, winger and strikers on their shopping list. Bearing in mind the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), there is some shrewd business to be done.

A return to the Champions League will, of course, necessitate a bigger squad, but there are currently too many fringe players in the setup who have failed to prove that they are worthy alternatives, with a chasm in quality between the starting XI and what has often been available from the bench.

Meanwhile, there is the usual hoard of youngsters who would benefit from loan moves away, including Mathis Amougou, Aaron Anselmino, Kellyman and perhaps even Marc Guiu. Alfie Gilchrist should probably go out again, too, after initially impressing at Sheffield United.

Chelsea will be on the lookout for at least one new left-sided winger this summer. That's little surprise in light of Sancho's return to Manchester United and the fact that Mykhailo Mudryk is still serving a provisional doping ban as he awaits the results of a 'B' sample and a final judgement.

The Ukrainian is almost certainly going to be unavailable for an even more extended period, and while Pedro Neto can operate on the left and young Tyrique George has shown flashes of his potential, it is a position that could be filled by a high-quality, long-term solution.

Maresca has previously made it clear he wants two strong options in every position, with Neto, Noni Madueke and the incoming Estevao Willian all nominally right-wingers, and Geovany Quenda arriving from Sporting CP in 2026. With Sancho gone and Mudryk banned, the Blues could be left very short on the opposite flank.

Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens currently seems to be the most likely arrival, who - at 20 years old - fits into the club's current transfer strategy, although Barcelona wantaway Ansu Fati has been mentioned in despatches, and the club are known to have a long-standing admiration for Athletic Club's Nico Williams, too.

This will be the question on everyone's lips as the days tick down towards the new season, because arguably Chelsea's most exciting new signing of the summer is already guaranteed; having now turned 18, Brazilian sensation Estevao will join up with the squad for pre-season.

As we've touched upon, the youngster is known as a winger, but he fancies himself as a No.10. "I've always been a No.10 and I went to the wing to have one-on-ones," he said last year. "I know that I've enjoyed it more on the wing, but who knows, maybe in the future I'll play where I feel more comfortable, which is inside."

The player's agent, Andre Cury, has even claimed his client has been given assurances about playing centrally, saying in March: "It was the only club that saw us as No.10, to play in midfield. I may be wrong, but we will have the opportunity. I think we will be right, so that was also something that weighed heavily."

The problem is, of course, that Chelsea's current best player, Palmer, occupies the No.10 spot at Stamford Bridge and certainly won't be dislodged. It will be up to Maresca to fit both players into his system without disillusioning two stars of the present and future in west London.

Chelsea face a significant decision in their defence, too: whether or not to cut their losses on injury-plagued £75m ($93m) Wesley Fofana. The centre-back missed the entirety of 2023-24 after rupturing his ACL in pre-season, and after strong comeback in the first half of 2024-25, his campaign was effectively curtailed by a hamstring injury that resulted in surgery.

That was even more of a shame as there had been the signs of a strong centre-back partnership developing between Fofana and Levi Colwill as the Blues soared as high as second in the Premier League before Christmas. However, Chelsea will know that even after surgery, the chances of the 24-year-old putting his injury troubles behind him for good are slim at best.

It has been reported that Chelsea are in the market for a new centre-back, although they have already lost out on prime target Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid. Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite is supposedly another target, but whether that would be to replace Fofana remains to be seen. Interestingly, the France international has been linked with a return to his homeland with Marseille.

Chelsea have a notoriously patchy record when it comes to players they've sent out on loan, but one young man's success away from Stamford Bridge means Maresca will most likely have to make room in his squad ahead of the new season.

Andrey Santos enjoyed an outstanding season at BlueCo-owned Strasbourg in Ligue 1, with the Brazilian midfielder instrumental in the club's unlikely surge into Europe, hitting double figures for goals (10) and laying on four more under Liam Rosenior in France, even leading to links with other top clubs.

The 21-year-old's form has generated plenty of excitement among the Chelsea fanbase, and he could save the club millions in the transfer window if he is able to replicate those exploits back in the Premier League. He is, however, untested in the English top-flight after a previous loan at Nottingham Forest where he wasn't given a look in.

It will be up to Maresca and is staff to decide exactly what role the youngster is ready for, with the expectation that he will be welcomed into the first-team fold in pre-season.

This will be a decision that is less clear cut than it seemed a matter of months ago; Robert Sanchez was the cause of countless heart-in-mouth moments for Chelsea fans throughout the season, finishing the Premier League campaign with the joint-highest number of errors leading to goals (five).

But at the same time, the Spaniard's excellent shot-stopping ability arguably earned the Blues plenty of points in marginal situations, and a timely return to form after a spell out of the firing line helped Chelsea secure Champions League football as they finished very strongly. He ended the campaign with the joint-highest save percentage (73.6%).

Maresca has largely stood staunchly by Sanchez despite his mistakes, but with Djordje Petrovic returning from his own successful loan at Strasbourg and highly-rated young Belgian shot-stopper Mike Penders joining up with the club after signing last summer, it remains to be seen who will be No.1 when 2025-26 gets underway.

There are many who would argue that the club should be going all out to sign an elite goalkeeper in the summer, rather than weighing up the unconvincing or unproven options that will be at their disposal. That's where AC Milan's Mike Maignan could apparently come in, although Chelsea have baulked at his £25m ($34m) asking price with a year to run on his contract.