After failing to qualify for the Champions League, Chelsea are now reportedly at risk of losing a star player before Enzo Maresca even has the chance to make his mark.
Chelsea transfer news
Despite the Blues' strong end to the Premier League season, their failure to finish inside the top four was enough for Todd Boehly to show Mauricio Pochettino the door at Stamford Bridge in controversial fashion. Since then, Maresca has left newly-promoted Leicester City for the London giants to become the latest manager to take on the challenge of steering a now somewhat steadied ship back towards its former glory.
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Without a place in Europe's elite competition, however, welcoming fresh faces to help steer that ship becomes that much harder, as Chelsea have already found out in pursuit of Michael Olise. The Crystal Palace winger reportedly has a £60m release clause that can only be triggered by Champions League clubs, which instantly leaves Chelsea on the back foot in negotiations.
Meanwhile, without that Champions League place, keeping hold of star players also becomes increasingly difficult, especially if other clubs come calling in the way that one European giant reportedly has for one of Maresca's key men.
According to Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich have enquired about signing Levi Colwill, who would be open to joining the Bundesliga giants this summer. Chelsea are reportedly unwilling to let him go and their asking price is currently too high for Bayern, but the central defender remains on their shortlist nonetheless in a worrying situation for those at Stamford Bridge.
As the summer goes on, it will be interesting to see just how much Colwill wants the move and just how much Bayern push for his signature to create a further dilemma for Chelsea.
"Fantastic" Colwill has a decision to make
A homegrown talent, Colwill has quite the decision to make this summer amid interest from one of Europe's best. With Chelsea at a crossroads themselves, having gone through three managers in two seasons, the defender may be wise to jump ship if he cannot see a proper pathway under Maresca.
After Pochettino's praise last season, it's little surprise that even as Chelsea have struggled, the interest in Colwill remains. The former Chelsea boss told the official club website: "At the moment I need to see him and get to know him better. He is a fantastic talent of course.
"‘We were talking about the things that also the way that we can help improve his game in all areas. He is so relaxed, calm and I enjoy talking to him. He has great character and personality. I am so happy to have him in the squad and to have this opportunity to work together."
It's now Maresca who will be hoping to benefit from that talent, but with Bayern interested, the Blues could yet be in for a frustrating start to the summer.