The details about the structure of Ben Chilwell's loan move to Crystal Palace from Chelsea have reportedly been announced.
Early on deadline day, news broke that Chilwell was on the verge of joining the Eagles on loan for the rest of the season, and more information about the deal has been reported.
After a hugely frustrating season so far that has seen the former England international frozen out at Stamford Bridge by Enzo Maresca, he is now set for an opportunity to revive his career.
In the last three-and-a-half seasons, Chilwell has only played 43 league games, with injuries being very disruptive in the 2021-22 and 2023-24 campaigns in particular.
Further injuries have struck Chilwell down this season, but even then, it was unlikely he was going to be given a chance after Maresca made tough decisions on trimming his squad down over the summer.
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Palace to contribute to Chilwell's salary
With Chilwell's injury record and lack of first-team action, there was no possibility of any club being willing to pay the full extent of the left-back's wages, which are believed to be in the region of £200,000-per-week.
Instead, as reported by the Telegraph, Palace are set to pay close to half of the 28-year-old's salary for the rest of the season.
Chilwell is under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2027, and even if he is able to make an impact at Selhurst Park in the second half of the campaign, he is unlikely to be offered that wage from any club in Europe.
The deal is set to be a straight six-month loan, but details about whether an option or an obligation-to-buy will be included are still unclear.
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A move that suits both Chelsea and Palace?
For Chelsea, offloading Chilwell is a no-brainer, with Maresca unwilling to welcome the player back into the squad, preferring Marc Cucurella as his left-back, while calling on Malo Gusto and Levi Colwill to cover if the Spaniard is unavailable.
Even if Palace only cover £100,000 of Chilwell's weekly wage, that will be a big help given Chelsea's extraordinary financial situation.
There are positives and negatives to this move for Chilwell, though, and the glaring negative is that he will need to battle with the impressive Tyrick Mitchell for a regular starting spot.
However, if given the opportunity, Chilwell will be utilised as a left wing-back, the position he played during his most successful spell at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel.
That is also the position Chilwell played at Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers, and ultimately led to his £50m move to Stamford Bridge in 2020, scoring nine Premier League goals in 61 games from left wing-back between 2019 and 2022.
Andrew Delaney
