Chelsea have become known for their revolving door transfer policy, but only 10 first-teamers left Stamford Bridge this summer. Amateurs.
Xabi Alonso pivoted to a more football-first policy, signing veterans like Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, alongside a proper goalkeeper in Emi Martinez.
Several of the squad that staggered to 10th in 2025-26 left the club, with Chelsea raking in over £500million for them. We’ve seen how they’ve fared since.
Chelsea were reluctant to sell Cucurella, but Real Madrid swooped in during the World Cup and paid £47.5million for the defender.
He’s already nailed down the left-back spot under Jose Mourinho, ahead of Alvaro Carreras and Ferland Mendy.
The 28-year-old has made 15 appearances for Madrid in all competitions and did a superb job shutting down Lamine Yamal in El Clasico last month. Chelsea are yet to properly replace him.
Another player that Chelsea fans were sad to see leave, George joined Everton in an £18million deal. The winger spent the second half of last season on loan there and David Moyes wanted him back.
He’s been getting plenty of minutes given the ultra-slim size of Everton’s squad, with eight appearances and a goal against Manchester United in September.
Santos moved to Manchester United in July for an initial fee of £48million. This was a player linked with Graham Potter’s West Ham 12 months previously and did little to improve his reputation since.
Still, United thought they’d got a bargain. Until they saw Santos play and realised Chelsea were laughing all the way to the bank.
The main memory of Santos’ early United career has been lying on his back as Morgan Rogers ran in a straight line past him to score on Halloween.
Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino can find better use for him.
Chalobah was a solid Premier League defender, but probably not quite good enough for where Chelsea want to be.
Given he’d also qualify as pure profit under financial regulations, it was no surprise to see the Blues cash in and sell him to Como for £25.7million.
Cesc Fabregas has played Chalobah eight times – six in Serie A and twice in the Champions League – and he also played in England’s Nations League victory in Prague in October.
After an inauspicious year at Stamford Bridge, there were plenty of eyebrows raised when Nottingham Forest paid £45million for Delap.
It looked like money not well spent after Forest’s goal-shy start to the season, but Delap really announced himself with two goals against Manchester City.
They were both thunderous strikes. Talk of an England call-up was premature, but here is another player who has probably found his level.
Jackson has blossomed since joining Aston Villa for an initial £47.5million, reaping the benefits of working under Unai Emery again after their previous stint at Villarreal.
The Senegal striker has scored nine times in 14 Villa appearances, including a match-winning double against Manchester City in October.
This was a player who always had evident talent, but without the time and faith to fully show it at Chelsea. It’s hard not to feel pleased for him.
After joining in January 2023, Fofana failed to give a succession of Chelsea managers much of a reason to play him.
The striker had loan spells at Union Berlin, Burnley, Goztepe, Fatih Karagumruk and Strasbourg while slipping out of supporters’ consciousness.
He left the club this summer for a measly £2.3million, a rare loss on the balance sheet for BlueCo. He’s scored once in five appearances for Swiss side Servette.
Tosin was only 28 when he left Chelsea, but their squad was so young that he was affectionately known as ‘Unc’ by his team-mates.
Like Chalobah, Tosin was a decent Premier League defender without the ceiling required. Spurs paid £10million for him and he’s played just twice since his move due to injury.
The biggest transfer saga of the summer was dragged out until Deadline Day, where Chelsea eventually got their £125million asking price.
Enzo Maresca desperately wanted Fernandez at Manchester City, but it’s not gone swimmingly since.
The Argentina midfielder has become a scapegoat in City’s run of three league defeats, apparently holding back Elliot Anderson with his lack of athleticism.
According to FotMob, Fernandez has won just 44.9 per cent of his total duels this season. Not ideal for half of a central midfield pairing.
Figuring out how to fit Fernandez into City’s XI is one of Maresca’s most pressing tasks. Chelsea will be pleased not to have that problem anymore.
Guiu also bid farewell to Stamford Bridge on deadline day, joining RB Leipzig on a permanent deal worth up to £14.6million with add-ons.
The striker wasn’t a first-team regular but still scored eight goals in 29 matches across all competitions. Not bad, given this included six goals in their Conference League-winning campaign in 2024-25.
The 20-year-old is yet to find the net for his new club.