Chelsea suffer Man Utd blow in bid for £13.5m windfall as Newcastle impact Champions League hope

It has not been a promising start to the season for Chelsea. Amidst a significant overhaull, injury crisis and youthful squad, the Blues find themselves 12th in the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino.

It's safe to say that the west London side held loftier ambitions heading into the season, and will hope to trend in the right direction in the second half of the term. Pochettino has laid out that he hopes for some activity in the transfer market, while Chelsea will hope to finally be able to call upon the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia.

At the outset of his tenure, Chelsea's head coach set on his ambition to win, and while it is yet to pan out, qualifying for European football would have been on his agenda too. There would have been an understanding that the task of finishing in the top four would prove difficult, but there was a prospect of a new route into the competition.

The Champions League is set for a revamp at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign as it expands to a 36-team competition. As a result four additional teams will qualify for the compeititon compared to the current format. That has raised the possibility of five Premier League teams taking part next season.

Currently there is a three-point difference between fourth and fifth in the Premier League, though Chelsea are 11 points behind Tottenham who currently sit fifth in the table. Qualification for the competition in 2023/24 saw a £13.37million windfall simply for making the group stage of the competition, with extra incentives for winning, and progressing through each round.

There is no guarantee that the Premier League will gain an extra place however, and the prospect is out of Chelsea's hands. Of the four extra places up for grabs, two