Chelsea news: £50m fear emerges as Blues set minimum European target before Sunderland

Chelsea need to qualify for the 2026-27 Europa League at the very minimum due to the limited finances on offer in the Conference League, former Blues winger Pat Nevin has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The West London giants play their final Premier League match of the pre-Xabi Alonso era on Sunday, facing Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in what could prove to be a straight shootout for a spot in European competition next season.

Thanks to Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea are still in with a shot of qualifying for a continental tournament, but it will not be the Champions League as sixth-placed Bournemouth are four points better off.

However, the Blues will be assured of a Europa League league-phase spot if they beat Sunderland and Brighton & Hove Albion - who are one point better off in seventh place - fail to overcome Manchester United in gameweek 38.

Chelsea's current eighth-placed standing in the Premier League table would only be good enough for the Conference League - a tournament which they are still the current champions of - but playing in the third-tier competition again would be unacceptable to Nevin.

'Chelsea need Europa League at the very minimum'

"They've got every chance to qualify for Europe," Nevin told Sports Mole. "There's a weird thing, people talk about Europe as if it's a special thing. The Champions League is what you're aiming for.

"There's a difference between qualifying for Europe and Champions League. Champions League's where the money is, that's what you need to get. Other European competitions can exhaust you.

"Now, by the time you get down to the Conference, you should win that with eyes closed. In fact, your reserve team should win it. It's just the way it is.

"It's just the honesty of the fact that, have a look at what English teams are doing in that competition. You need to be in the Europa really, at the very minimum. That looks like a bit of a stretch for Chelsea at the moment.

"It comes down to finances. Everybody talks about a new manager, a big name, well respected. Will he be given the time, finances, freedom to decide to push it along the way he wants to push it?

"All those are different questions, and they're hard, because have you got the money to do it? Do you need to start trading again? If so, you probably need to trade a big name or two. Could they make European football? Maybe, but you want it to be the Europa, you really do. The money in the Conference is limited."

How much money would Chelsea lose in the Conference League?

The total prize pots for the Europa League and Conference League for the current campaign show a stark contrast; around £488m for the former and £246m for the latter.

Playing in the Europa League rather than the Conference League also generates bigger TV revenues and commercial deals for clubs, as well as giving them reason to charge higher prices for matchday tickets.

Furthermore, winning the Europa League offers a ticket to compete not just in the UEFA Super Cup, but the Champions League, which is where most of the money is as Nevin rightly pointed out.

Factoring in prize money, matchday revenue, commercial dealings and future Champions League/Super Cup gains, the difference between reaching the Europa League final and Conference League final is around £50m - enough for one big-name transfer at Stamford Bridge.