Chelsea are reportedly willing to let midfield duo Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka leave Stamford Bridge on loan during the January transfer window, with the pair struggling for action this term.
Dewsbury-Hall only arrived at Stamford Bridge from Leicester City over the summer, but the 26-year-old has been restricted to just 55 minutes of Premier League football during the 2024-25 campaign.
The midfielder has played 14 times in all competitions, but the bulk of his football has come in Europe and the EFL Cup, with head coach Enzo Maresca preferring other options in the middle of midfield.
Chukwuemeka, meanwhile, has only played five times for the Blues this term, with four of those outings coming in the Conference League, and he is yet to play a minute of Premier League football in 2024-25.
According to The Mirror, Chelsea are prepared to let both midfielders leave on loan in January, although the Blues would ask that a percentage of their wages is covered by any interested clubs.
Dewsbury-Hall, Chukwuemeka 'could leave Chelsea on loan'
Dewsbury-Hall made 129 appearances for Leicester, scoring 17 goals and registering 20 assists in the process, and he was outstanding for the Foxes during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Englishman scored 12 goals and registered 14 assists in 44 Championship appearances for Leicester last term, and he followed Maresca to Stamford Bridge, with the latter appointed Chelsea's new head coach.
A permanent sale in January will be difficult due to the fact that Dewsbury-Hall signed a five-year deal with Chelsea upon his arrival, with the option to extend his contract for a further 12 months.
Chukwuemeka, meanwhile, arrived at Chelsea from Aston Villa in 2022, and he has represented the London club on 32 occasions, scoring twice and registered one assist in the process.
Maresca said back in September that he had told the 21-year-old to leave over the summer for the sake of his career.
"I will say exactly the same thing I have said many times: Carney is a very good player, but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the beginning of the season it is probably better to leave and go somewhere, prove himself and playing 30 or 35 games than being here and play less games," the manager told reporters.
"Unfortunately that didn't happen. He is our player. He had some minutes the other day, today he was not involved. Hopefully, we can give him more minutes."
Will there be Premier League interest in the duo?
It is very difficult to imagine either player dropping down to the Championship, and there will undoubtedly be Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on the situation, as both would improve a lot of clubs in England's top flight.
Chelsea's involvement in Europe means that there has been a lot of football on offer in the first half of the campaign, but the pair will have to depart if they have ambitions of securing regular action in the Premier League. body check tags ::
