Chelsea Transfer News: 3 Players to Fund Paul Pogba, Major Antonio Conte Rumours

Incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will reportedly sell Willian, Oscar and John Obi Mikel in order to pay for Juventus star Paul Pogba this summer as part of an overhaul he has already begun planning.

According to Italian outlet Sportmediaset (h/t the Daily Star's Luke Gardener), Conte will fund the Pogba deal by shipping out the trio as the Frenchman could cost up to £80 million. 

The Daily Mail's Simon Jones also reported the Italian visited Chelsea's Cobham training ground on Tuesday and will meet with key players such as John Terry, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic "to establish who is keen to leave ahead of a potential summer rebuild."

Indeed, after the Blues followed up a title-winning season with a largely disastrous campaign that will see them not only fail to challenge for the league but miss out on UEFA Champions League qualification as well, it's clear changes to the squad are needed.

Bleacher Report UK's Garry Hayes believes as much:

Pogba is certainly a player who could restore Chelsea's status as Premier League and Champions League challengers, and the Frenchman is having an excellent season in Turin after making a successful transition into the No. 10 role.

He has scored eight goals this year, including this excellent free-kick against Juve's local rivals Torino, per BT Sport Football:

The midfielder has also provided 12 assists, the most recent coming on Saturday as he set up Mario Mandzukic with a delightful cross for the only goal of the game against Empoli:

However, despite the inevitable horde of suitors the 23-year-old will attract in the summer, according to his agent Mino Raiola he may be content to stay with the Bianconeri, per journalist David Amoyal:

Chelsea might especially struggle to persuade him to leave as they won't be able to offer Champions League football, per Bleacher Report UK's Marcus Speller:

Selling Willian, undoubtedly their player of the season, would also raise more than a few eyebrows. The Brazilian has frequently come to the rescue of his side this season and is one of, if not the only player who has met or surpassed the standards they displayed last year.

His 10 goals and nine assists have helped the Blues climb the Premier League table and reach the last 16 of the Champions League. B/R's Sam Tighe believes the 27-year-old is matching the influence Hazard had last year:

As for Oscar, he's had a reasonable season under the circumstances, and while he may not be as good as Pogba, at 24 he still has much to offer.

However, selling the Brazil international to get Pogba is understandable—they play in a similar position and the Juventus man would relegate him to the role of back-up.

Mikel is certainly an obvious candidate to move on regardless of whether they can get Pogba. He's made over 350 appearances for the club in a 10-year spell. However, he has never been a key performer for the Blues and his usefulness as a squad player has diminished over time.

Pogba's star continues to rise ever higher and Chelsea looking to offset the enormous outlay required to get him by selling players is to be expected. But Willian's development into one of the Blues' best players should make them think twice about letting him go, regardless of who will be replacing him.