Chelsea set for £9m transfer windfall that could change everything amid Xavi Simons wait

Chelsea are on the verge of earning around £10million without even doing anything. As they enter the final two weeks of thesummer transfer window, it could be a significant boost.

Enzo Maresca currently has a relatively settled squad at his disposal and put that to good use in friendlies on the eve of the new season against Bayer Leverkusen and Milan. Across two games in three days at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea scored six times, conceded once, and integrated all of their signings.

It was the ideal homecoming for the new world champions with no margin for error heading into the return of the Premier League against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Oliver Glasner's FA Cup winners will have been buoyed by their major trophy in May and battled well to draw with Liverpool, taking the Community Shield on penalties.

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That will be the challenge ahead of Chelsea but there are still changes expected to Maresca's group. Despite taking such great momentum from the back end of last season via the Conference League final, Club World Cup, and securing a spot back in the Champions League, there has been sizeable movement.

Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke were first choices for much of Maresca's first year in charge but may both have left by the time the window closes on September 1. Madueke is already out with Jackson now waiting to see if a team will stump up at least £60million (if not more) to buy him.

Elsewhere, the midfield has been reinforced and the attack is looking fresh. It has been the sort of evolution rather than revolution that many imagined would come at the start of the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly ownership.

Instead, Chelsea have overhauled the entire club from head to toe, and are now able to build from a much more stable base. It has been far from easy or smooth, but now looks to be paying off.

Included in this change was the exit for Omari Hutchinson. He arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal's academy in 2022 but left permanently two years later for £20million.

There were flashes of Hutchinson's talent at Chelsea but it was on loan at Ipswich Town that he really started to flourish with regular game time in men's football. In the promotion winning 2023/24 campaign he worked his way into Kieran McKenna's team and ended with 10 goals and six assists in the Championship.

That was enough to convince the Tractor Boys to buy him, providing Chelsea with a neat profit on a player that wanted to settle down rather than be stuck in a cycle of loans. Ipswich provided that option where Chelsea were unable to guarantee minutes in a stacked frontline.

Hutchinson found things harder in the Premier League, as did Ipswich. He only scored three times, assisting two, in 31 appearances and 2,500 minutes.

Nevertheless, as a versatile 21-year-old, it has raised enough interest to see him earn yet another transfer. This time, Hutchinson is set to move to Nottingham Forest.

As Nuno Espirito Santo attempts to deal with the loss of Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United, Hutchinson has emerged as their replacement. Ironically, for Chelsea, he will join up with Callum Hudson-Odoi at the City Ground.

What is most noteworthy about this deal, though, is the price. Forest are ready to pay £37million for Hutchinson, which represents a £17million increase on the fee Chelsea sold him for just 12 months.

Whether Hutchinson's performances warranted that is now besides the point. Chelsea's gain is about to grow again because they inserted a large sell-on clause in the contract.

Contrary to belief, they will not get 25% of the total sale from Ipswich, but a quarter of the profit made. So, in this instance, it is 25% of the £17million over £20million. That comes out at £4.25million into Chelsea's pocket for the development of a player they haven't had for a year.

The same method goes for Marc Guehi.He was sold under the Roman Abramovich regime in 2021 to Palace for £20million. Like Hutchinson, that came off the back of a Championship loan, this time to Swansea City, where he established himself as one of the biggest defensive prospects in the country.

With Chelsea becoming unexpected Champions League winners that summer, Guehi's chances of going into Thomas Tuchel's backline consistently were limited and so he pushed for an exit. Palace picked him up and have benefitted ever since.

Four years on, Guehi has amassed over 120 Premier League appearances. He is now the captain at Selhurst Park and is a mainstay in the England side.

With under 12 months left on his contract, a move was always expected this summer. His future has dragged on, though, with Liverpool at the front of the queue.

Chelsea have been admirers of the Cobham graduate without acting on that, even when they were short at centre-back. Now, with Liverpool considering a transfer of around £40million, Chelsea could still get a final windfall from Guehi.

As with Hutchinson, to partially future proof themselves, a sell-on clause was included. This time it is believed to be at 20%. Using the same equation as before, Chelsea stand to earn around £5million from Guehi's Palace exit if he goes for £40million.

Together, Guehi and Hutchinson could deliver Chelsea £9million this summer. As they prepare for more talks with Manchester United and RB Leipzig over Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons, it could make all the difference.