Pochettino has indicated that some players wish to depart the Stamford Bridge club and that they have already started to work on this. James is one of the players that Pochettino mentioned specifically.

Chelsea are preparing to sell Reece James and Conor Gallagher this summer to avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, according to reports. The Sunday Times insists that the Blues 'are preparing to sell the England internationals' as they look to 'bring the club’s strained Financial Fair Play position into line'. 'Moving on James and Gallagher, who came through Chelsea’s academy together, before June 30 will allow the club to treat the full amount of their transfer fees as player trading profit in their 2023-24 accounts. The Sunday Times understands that Chelsea want to generate well over £100 million in additional revenue to avoid surpassing the league’s £105 million limit on allowable losses over a three-year period.'