Paul Merson expects Timo Werner to be sold after Roman Abramovich sanctions and makes Chelsea v Newcastle prediction

A number of Chelsea players could be moved on at the end of the season after club owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the government.

Abramovich said he intended to sell Chelsea earlier in the month but the sale has been halted and thrown into uncertainty following the UK government’s announcement on Thursday morning.

While Russian billionaire Abramovich can still sell the club, he is unable to make any money from the purchase, with Chelsea also blocked from selling any matchday tickets or merchandise while the sanctions are in place.

Abramovich has spent more than £2billion on transfer signings since buying Chelsea in 2003 and it is unlikely that the club’s new owners will be willing or able to match that level of spending.

As a result, Chelsea could well need to offload a number of stars this summer and Arsenal legend Merson believes Werner will be among them.

The Germany international has endured a mixed spell at Stamford Bridge following his £47.5m move from RB Leipzig in 2020, helping Chelsea win the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup but only scoring seven Premier League goals.

With the current sanctions preventing Chelsea from signing new players or agreeing any new contracts, the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen could join Werner in leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.

Merson told Sportskeeda: ‘Chelsea are in a bit of a situation at the moment. Rudiger’s gone anyway – you don’t refuse to sign a contract and lose eighty grand a week for nothing.

‘When players don’t sign contracts, you can take it for granted that they’ll leave more often than not.

‘Where can you take Chelsea from here? They’re the champions of Europe and they’ve won everything.

‘Whoever buys Chelsea at this point will probably just lose money. They’ll have to start selling players – if they can get their money back for Timo Werner, they’ll probably sell him too.’

Chelsea put the uncertainty and chaos surrounding the club to one side on Thursday night to beat Premier League strugglers Norwich City 3-1 at Carrow Road.

Thomas Tuchel’s side face Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and Merson expects the Blues to clinch another comfortable win, despite the Magpies winning six of their last seven games under Eddie Howe and pulling clear of the relegation zone.

‘I’m going to be at this game, and I think Chelsea should be able to win,’ Merson added.

‘Newcastle beat Southampton this week, and I think that’s it for them – they should be safe in the Premier League now.

‘Chelsea beat Norwich and that’s it for them too – they should make it to the top four.

‘Newcastle have been absolutely outstanding to do what they’ve done in the Premier League so far, but I’m going to go with a comfortable Chelsea win.

‘To be fair, I’d probably predict the same result if this fixture was taking place a year from now.’