Chelsea are reportedly struggling to find a new club for Ben Chilwell, who has been turned down by four Turkish clubs so far.
Chelsea have reportedly been struggling to drum up interest in Ben Chilwell, having received no response after offering him to clubs in Turkey.
In spite of some terrible luck with injuries, Chilwell has been a loyal servant to the Blues over the past four seasons, coming up with nine goals and 12 assists in 106 matches in all competitions.
Chelsea paid Leicester City just over £42m to bring the left-back to Stamford Bridge, where he has won one Champions League and one UEFA Super Cup, but he was restricted to just 13 top-flight games last season.
While the 27-year-old has not been able to stay consistently fit, few could foresee him being brutally frozen out of Enzo Maresca‘s Chelsea squad, sharing the same fate as several other revered names.
The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah all left Chelsea before the Premier League window slammed shut, but they are still stuck with Chilwell, who has three years left to run on his contract.
The former Leicester City defender could still join a club in Greece or Turkey in the coming days, as the window in the former league is open until September 11, while the Turkish market closes on September 13.
However, Chilwell is allegedly in no rush to leave the Blues in the coming months, even though he has been warned by Maresca that he will not play any minutes between now and January.
Chelsea Chilwell offers ‘fall on deaf ears’
© Imago
Chelsea’s efforts to get the left-back off their books have now suffered another blow, as The Mirror claims that as many as four Turkish teams have turned their noses up to a deal so far.
All of Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Istanbul Basaksehir have passed up the chance to sign Chilwell, whose £200,000-a-week wages have not helped Chelsea’s efforts to offload him.
The Blues are apparently happy to let him leave on loan if a permanent deal cannot be agreed, but they would likely have to cover a portion of his salary if such a move is to materialise.
In terms of Premier League interest, Brentford were thought to have been the only side to make a serious enquiry, but the Bees did not follow up on their initial interest late in the transfer window.
A shock move to Manchester United was also mooted amid Luke Shaw‘s perennial fitness problems, and even though the two clubs did strike an agreement over Jadon Sancho, the Chilwell deal did not come to fruition.
Maresca has settled on Marc Cucurella as his first-choice left-back this season, while Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill and Renato Veiga all represent alternative options on that side.