Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted that the current Blues squad has to be cut significantly before next season, Evening Standard reports.
It’s understood that Oscar, who scored a lovely brace against AC Milan last night, Juan Cuadrado, Asmir Begovic, Loic Remy and plenty of youngsters could still be heading out this summer.
Italian side Inter Milan are very keen on Oscar, as the club are ready to table a £30m bid for the Brazil international.
Loic Remy was included as part of the £60m offer for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.
Even Pedro, who was signed from Barcelona just one season ago and was left unused to the bench last night, has struggled to make an impression on Conte, and could face a move away sooner than you might guess.
Some youngsters could also be suggested to go on loan, but the bottom line for Conte is that critical changes are needed to be made.
The Italian has told he will sit down with the board next week to discuss who’s leaving and who’s staying.
We have 30 players and four goalkeepers. Now we have one game against Werder Bremen (on Sunday) and then we must take a decision – and I hope to take the best decision for the club.
My ideas are very clear now, but first I must talk about these ideas with the club.
It is normal when we go back to London that I will talk with the club. We will talk about these two weeks and what I have learned and I will also speak to all the players.
My ideas are more clear than they were two weeks ago. It is normal when you have 30 players and in just 10 days we start our League. We have to get the right squad and the right numbers.
Antonio Conte has so far used 29 different players during the two pre-season spells in Austria and USA, but the 47-year-old is still keen for more players with Romelu Lukaku, Santos midfielder Thiago Maia and Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly all high on the shortlist.
It means some players must be leaving to fund the transfer coming into Chelsea’s way, and Oscar’s proposed £30m move to Inter Milan could be the first to happen.
When asked directly about Oscar, Conte had a somewhat of a mixed message for the former Internacional star.
Oscar is an important player and the season when Chelsea won the title he was fantastic.
Last season was bad for all the players – not just for Oscar. He is a good player with a great talent but he can improve a lot.
I see a good attitude and a good will and these 14 days have been important to me because I am judging the players during the training sessions so I can try to find the right solution.
I think this match told me a lot about this and about the players who we will keep and the players we can send out on loan or sell.
Today was important because my ideas are clearer than before.
