Gary Neville does not approve of the way Chelsea have conducted their transfer business this summer.

Chelsea have signed 10 new players since the end of last season and have now spent well in excess of £1billion on signings since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took control of the club's affairs in May 2022.

But it is not Chelsea's spending that bothers Neville the most. The former Manchester United captain is more concerned by how Chelsea have been treating the players that these new signings have seemingly been brought in to replace.

Conor Gallagher - who captained the Blues last season and had been on the club's books since the age of six - was excluded from first-team training after new manager Enzo Maresca decided that the midfielder did not suit his tactical plan.

Gallagher has since left to join Atletico Madrid but Chelsea's 'bomb squad' still has more than a dozen members - including Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah.

Gary Neville has blasted Chelsea for their 'ugly' treatment of unwanted players this summer

Sterling was seemingly surprised to learn that he had been added to the Chelsea scrap heap and the former Liverpool and Man City star issued a statement shortly after he was not included in Maresca's squad for the opening game of the season.

Chelsea lost that game 2-0 to Man City. However, Neville still believes that a top-four finish is attainable at Stamford Bridge.

Neville discussed Chelsea in his latest newsletter for The Overlap. It was titled: 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly'. 

'Let's start with what is good about Chelsea: the collection of players,' wrote Neville. 'Despite the defeat against Manchester City, I'm seeing a group that can make the top four on paper.

'If you have a front three of Neto, Joao Felix and Cole Palmer, a midfield of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, plus their back four and depth in the squad, you're in a position most clubs would envy. The challenge is moulding them into a team that can do it.

'However, we can quickly get to the bad. Clearlake have spent £1.1bn since taking over and they still haven't signed a centre forward who you would regard as a top-class assured starter in the Premier League. (I really like Nicolas Jackson but I don't think he's that yet).

'You've six goalkeepers, but not one I would really trust. You have 42 players in the squad but a manager who has just said this week that he will only be working with 21 of them. Good luck moving onto the other 21. And good luck motivating them for the rest of the season if you can't move them on.'

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Neville continued: 'And then there is the ugly. The way Chelsea are exiting players is plain wrong. There's a way to manage a player out of a club. No good comes from the manner in which they have treated Raheem Sterling, a senior player with influence throughout the squad. (His statement was unfortunate but that doesn't detract from the point). 

'You don't treat a player like Conor Gallagher, a really good pro and an England international who has been with the club since the age of six, whose family are Chelsea fans, like an unwanted commodity to trade. Maybe that is how private equity treats people but someone needs to tell them it's a terrible look.

'Likewise Trevoh Chalobah, who's been with Chelsea since the age of eight, exiled now to training away from the squad. I've seen how devastating that can be. It will send a message to his peers, teammates, fans and especially young players coming through the academy pathway. And it's not the message the owners think they're sending. They don't look tough. They look callous.'

Chelsea recorded their first win of the season on Thursday night by beating Swiss side Servette 2-0 in the playoff round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Maresca's men will now travel to Wolves on Sunday in search of their first Premier League points of the campaign.