Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, with Manchester City keen.
Simon Phillips has revealed to Give Me Sport, that Chelsea are not interested in selling Ben Chilwell at the end of the season despite interest from Premier League club Manchester City.
The Premier League champions recently sanctioned the loan departure of Joao Canceo to Bayern Munich. And they are expected to part with the Portuguese international permanently in the summer transfer window. To that end, Ben Chilwell has emerged as a potential replacement.
However, Simon Phillips believes that Chelsea are not open to selling the 26-year-old anytime soon. Speaking to Give Me Sport, he confirmed that Chelsea will not entertain any offers for the England defender in the summer.
“It will be interesting to see if City do come in for Chilwell and what Chelsea say to them. But, at this moment in time, I’m hearing nothing to suggest that Chelsea will entertain any offers for Chilwell in the summer.”
Chilwell has not been able to live up to the expectations since his big-money move from Leicester City. But the 26-year-old has the ability to develop into one of the best left-backs in the league. He has had constant injury problems since his move to Stamford Bridge, and it will be interesting to see if the 26-year-old can finally get over his persistent injury issues in the coming months.
Chelsea have Marc Cucurella and Ben Chilwell as their left-back options right now. And Graham Potter will not want to weaken that department of his squad anytime soon. It seems highly unlikely that they will allow Chilwell to leave the club without bringing in the necessary reinforcements first.
Furthermore, Chelsea are hoping to challenge for major trophies in the coming seasons. And they cannot hope to do so without the necessary squad depth and quality. Chilwell has the ability to hold down a regular starting berth at Chelsea and will certainly hope to do so during the second half of the season.
Compared to Cucurella, Chilwell is a far more balanced full-back who is equally good going forward as well as defensively. The 26-year-old joined Chelsea for a fee of around £45 million from Leicester City. And he has the potential to justify that outlay in the coming seasons. It will be interesting to see if the Manchester City target can get his career back on track in the upcoming months and fulfill his tremendous potential at Stamford Bridge.
