Eight Chelsea stars have played their last game as Enzo Maresca carries out brutal transfer act

The new season is the start of one chapter but also marks the end of another. For Chelsea, the squad named by Enzo Maresca for their opener at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday told a story.

In truth, it was one that had been clear and well-written already. Throughout 2025 and in an accelerated summer, the futures of most players had been decided.

For those who were not included in the Club World Cup travelling party to America, it signalled the end. Some of those had been on loan for the entirety of the 2024/25 season and others went out in January.

By the time Maresca returned for a condensed pre-season at Cobham just two weeks ago, a lot of good work had been done. Most of the incomings were complete (save for Xavi Simons, Alejandro Garnacho, and maybe a centre-back), whilst a decent chunk of the exits were being finalised.

Chelsea still have plenty to get off the books between now and the September 1 deadline but 10 permanent sales worth over £200million have been confirmed and another four loans for developing youngsters can also be added to the list. So far, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Djordje Petrovic, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja, Mathis Amougou, Bashir Humphreys, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Marcus Bettinelli have left.

Of those, only Madueke and Bettinelli seemed likely to have any sort of role with Maresca once the summer started. Bettinelli was gone before the Club World Cup, though, and Madueke did not last the course. He was having a medical at Arsenal whilst Chelsea won the competition.

Petrovic may have had designs on taking the No.1 spot but once it became obvious that Robert Sanchez was still preferred, his time came swiftly to a close. From there, the rest have been formulaic.

Chelsea got good money for Felix, Broja, and Ugochukwu. They sold on Amougou after a confusing mid-season signing in the first place, and cashed in on Kepa and Humphreys, who had always been expected to go from as early as last summer.

Now it is down to some of the big earners and tougher movers. Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, and Christopher Nkunku are out of the picture. Nkunku did stay with the squad in America having played a role throughout the second half of last season but he is not in the plans.

Maresca made as much apparent when leaving him out of the matchday selection for friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and Milan last weekend. Disasi and his other Mauricio Pochettino favourite exiles are in the same camp.

They have not even been issued with shirt numbers for the season, whereas Nkunku has. Carney Chukwuemeka is in a similar position. David Datro Fofana is not seen as a viable option either. Renato Veiga is not being lined up as a replacement for Levi Colwill so is also on the way out.

All of these players are free to leave Stamford Bridge if Chelsea can find suitable new homes. That is proving hard to come by, though, especially so in the case of Sterling and Chilwell who are more than three years removed from their last patch of strong form.

The pair are ageing, on big contracts, and unable to prove their worth in the top flight. Nkunku has interest from Bayern Munich, which could open the door to Chelsea bringing in Xavi Simons, but is another deal that is harder to get over the line than initially thought.

Chukwuemeka is in talks with Borussia Dortmund over a return to Germany, this time permanently. Disasi and Fofana are seeking to leave in the last fortnight of the window as well.

Someone who sits in the middle of this is Nicolas Jackson. He was suspended for the Palace match so could not be included anyway, but Chelsea had already left him out of their pre-season preparations last weekend for the friendlies.

That indicated that he really is on the way out. Chelsea are keen to bring in a high price for a player who is proven in the Premier League, tied down until 2033, and still only 24 years old.

The market for strikers has reduced in the past month but Newcastle United could still find themselves in the mix if Alexander Isak is sold or does not reintegrate with the squad. Jackson is not training with the Chelsea first team but would join them again if no transfer is forthcoming.

For now, it looks like he has played his last game for the club. Nkunku, Veiga, Sterling, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, Fofana, and Disasi can all be a lot more confident in saying the same thing.

Maresca has moved on from all of them and the team sheet on Sunday demonstrated this with brutal precision. If the squad numbers, training plans, or summer activity did not show this then the game against Palace certainly did.

There is still work to be done in order to cut this group down, and hopefully entirely get rid of it, otherwise the scramble for late loans will be on again. For now, the direction of travel is only heading in one way.