Chelsea’s unique ‘favour’ to Ben Chilwell that solved his £200,000-per-week wages

Add as preferred source on Google

Ben Chilwell’s tenure at Chelsea ended on transfer deadline day when he joined sister-club Strasbourg, and new details have shed more light on how that deal came about.

Chilwell fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge last season, with Enzo Maresca firmly choosing Marc Cucurella as his first-choice left-back.

The England international struggled to get any time on the pitch before spending the second half of the season on loan at Crystal Palace.

With no future at Chelsea, a permanent transfer in the summer was always clearly the goal. The problem for Chilwell and the Blues was his £200,000-per-week wages, which few suitors wanted to take on.

Chelsea did Ben Chilwell a ‘favour’ to sell him

His wages were proving to be a stumbling block, and Chelsea journalist Matt Law revealed on the Chelsea Podcast how the club helped him on that front to ensure a transfer for Chilwell could occur.

“I think they’ve done well by Chilwell. Everyone wanted him to be treated well. What I’m told is that they agreed to pay up part of his contract, I don’t know how much. A settlement was made over the remainder of his contract that then allowed a deal to be done with Strasbourg.”

“I don’t think Strasbourg pay more than £30,000 a week in wages. So the only way for that deal to get done was for Chelsea to make a settlement with Chilwell. And that was obviously aimed at getting him a club and getting him playing, especially in a World Cup year. It’s a bit of a favour to Chilly.”

Chilwell was a popular figure at Stamford Bridge, and the fact that the club did this for him proves that his behaviour over the past year was exemplary.

In a time when players such as Alexander Isak and Yoane Wissa have refused to train for their clubs to force a move, Chilwell always got on with the task at hand, regardless of the circumstances.

Ben Chilwell will look to rediscover his previous Chelsea form

Being able to play regularly this season will be a big deal for Chilwell, given that there is a World Cup taking place next summer, and there’s no doubt he’d like to be involved.

While he’s been out of the England setup for a while, Thomas Tuchel is a manager who knows Chilwell very well based on their time together at Chelsea.

Chilwell was a regular feature under the current England boss, with the two men winning the Champions League together at the Blues. Therefore, if the left-back can regain some form, he could end up in contention for the Three Lions.

Regular game time will be crucial for Chilwell in making that happen, as it’s something he failed to get last season, even during his loan move to Crystal Palace.