Chelsea contracts: Conor Gallagher and four more Blues entering the last year of their deals

Chelsea don’t have any great concerns with contracts that are expiring this summer but the next 12 months at Stamford Bridge could be very interesting for the five players heading into the final year of their deals with the Blues.

Thiago Silva rides off into the sunset after four years at Chelsea and there was no expectation that the 39-year-old would be sticking around. He is rumoured to be heading back to his hometown club Fluminense.

Some of the players entering the final year of their Chelsea contracts have a more clearcut future than others, although most of them have some reason to doubt that they will be sticking around.

At a club where so many players are on long-term deals, these players will understand the message conveyed to them by their deals being allowed to roll into their final year.

Note: We have taken out Omari Hutchinson after Chelsea activated an option to extend his contract until 2026.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Age: 29

The sometime hero and oft-villain of the piece, Kepa Arrizabalaga, has divided opinion during his time at Chelsea and returns from a middling season-long loan at Real Madrid. Arrizabalaga still has options even if his time at Real Madrid didn’t suggest that the Spanish giants would be willing to take him permanently, however he is highly likely to leave Chelsea before the end of his contract. He could try to see out the final year of his deal in order to keep drawing his current wage but it would seem that the pragmatic thing to do would be to take a paycut and go to a club where he can prove that he is still a valuable asset.

Lucas Bergstrom

Age: 21

Young stopper Lucas Bergstrom remains on loan at Brommapojkarna in Sweden until December having agreed a season-long loan to the Allsvenskan side. Bergstrom made a decent start to his time in Sweden opening with a clean sheet but he was dropped after letting in four in just his third league game and has since been benched by boss Olof Mellberg. A physically impressive but very raw goalkeeper, it looks like Chelsea will be prepared to let him go when his contract is up but they may also try to move him on in the January window. Chelsea do not need to contract another goalkeeper at this stage with Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic battling to be No.1.

Malang Sarr

Age: 25

Malang Sarr’s situation is a little more complicated than either of the Chelsea goalkeepers but the defender is clearly unsettled at Stamford Bridge, yet the club blocked his exit as recently as the January window. Chelsea would like to recover a fee for Sarr but they are running out of time to get that done and the once promising centre-back is rotting in the background at the club. Sarr has remained at Stamford Bridge but has reportedly been exiled from the first team squad and it doesn’t look likely that a change of manager will drastically change his situation. The player’s nightmare time at Chelsea is nearly through and he will be hoping to engineer an exit over the summer rather than waiting out the year.

Conor Gallagher

Age: 24

Boyhood Blue Conor Gallagher would love to stay at Chelsea but has been identified as a candidate for sale by Boehly and company. Former head coach Mauricio Pochettino was a big fan of the midfielder but his superiors didn’t stop thinking about selling him for pure profit. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that the club deem Gallagher’s wage demands for an extension to be too high. He appears prepared to draw things out but has been targeted by Tottenham, who wanted him in January and still have him on their agenda, and also linked with Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa recently.

Hakim Ziyech

Age: 31

Hakim Ziyech has enjoyed a productive loan spell at Galatasaray and it has been reported that the Turkish Champions have triggered an option to buy the winger, with Chelsea prepared to accept a minimal fee to buy out his contract. In all likelihood, Ziyech will not return to Stamford Bridge at all. His transfer is set to be confirmed when the window opens. He has become a valued part of the Galatasaray squad and scored some spectacular goals from free-kicks but his Premier League stint had few highlights.