Vesper

Omari Hutchinson undergoes Ipswich medical ahead of move from Chelsea https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5597520/2024/06/28/omari-hutchinson-ipswich-Chelsea-transfer-news/ Omari Hutchinson has undergone a medical at Ipswich Town after the club agreed a deal worth up to £22.5million with Chelsea for the winger. The fee is set to be an initial £20m plus up to £2.5m in add-ons, and would include a sell-on clause, making it a club record transfer for Ipswich. Subject to Hutchinson completing a medical, the move is expected to be announced in the coming days. Arsenal will receive a percentage of the fee due to a sell-on clause inserted into the deal when Hutchinson moved from the north London club to Chelsea in 2022. The 20-year-old impressed on a season-long loan deal at Portman Road in the 2023-24 season, scoring 11 goals in 50 appearances to help Kieran McKenna’s side secure promotion to the Premier League after a 22-year absence. The Athletic reported earlier this month that Ipswich had enquired about a fee for Hutchinson, who was also attracting interest from other Premier League clubs and teams across Europe. Stuttgart, Ajax and Feyenoord were also keen on Hutchinson, but the lure of playing under McKenna at Ipswich again gave the newly-promoted side an advantage. McKenna signed a new long-term Ipswich contract in May. Hutchinson first joined Chelsea as a four-year-old in 2008, but left in 2012 to join Charlton Athletic’s youth system before spending seven years at Arsenal between 2015 and 2022. The winger re-joined Chelsea in the summer of 2022 and made his senior debut against Manchester City in the Premier League in January 2023 as a second-half substitute. Hutchinson represented England internationally up to Under-19 level but has subsequently been capped twice by Jamaica’s senior team. Ipswich are preparing for their first season back in the Premier League since 2001-02, having secured back-to-back promotions in League One and the Championship. Hutchinson scored a number of important goals towards the latter stages of Ipswich’s promotion-push, scoring twice against Hull City in their penultimate away game of the season, and adding the second in a 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town that secured promotion on the final day of the campaign. Ipswich’s current record transfer is the initial £4.5m paid for Sampdoria goalkeeper Matteo Sereni in the summer of 2001. The Athletic reported earlier this week that Ipswich and Hull City are engaged in active negotiations over the transfer of defender Jacob Greaves, although an agreement is yet to be reached. GO DEEPER Omari Hutchinson: 'The ultimate aim is the Champions League. I have a picture as my screensaver'

Chelsea and Dewsbury-Hall: First, why? Second, why? Actually, it makes sense https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5600965/2024/06/29/Chelsea-kiernan-dewsbury-hall-maresca/ Chelsea’s new head coach Enzo Maresca officially starts work on July 1 and if things go according to plan, he will soon have his best player from former club Leicester City joining him. As The Athletic revealed on Friday, Chelsea have made an offer to Leicester for midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. His displays under Maresca for Leicester in the Championship last season led to him being voted the club’s player of the year and players’ player of the year (and The Athletic’s Championship player of the season). Chelsea supporters, not for the first time in this window, appear to be a little underwhelmed. Nothing has been agreed yet and the 25-year-old could end up staying at Leicester, but given Chelsea have so many midfielders in the squad already, it is still worth discussing why they are making such a move. This has been under consideration for weeks and is not a last-minute reaction to Brighton & Hove Albion’s attempts to acquire Dewsbury-Hall themselves this week. Chelsea were under the impression Leicester would listen to offers but could not act straight away due to the amount of squad planning — ins and outs — being earmarked this summer. They have already been busy on this front. Meanwhile, Maresca needed to be involved in these discussions but as he was not in the building yet, it provided a bit of a complication to work around. It is no surprise Maresca is on board with this pursuit, but Chelsea have not just decided to go along with it to keep the Italian happy. Dewsbury-Hall fits the system Maresca likes to use and provides something different to what they have in the squad because he is a left-footed midfielder. His potential arrival has led to more speculation that a final decision on Conor Gallagher’s future has been made and he will definitely be sold. That is not the case and Chelsea have not ruled out offering an extension to the England international’s contract, which has just 12 months left to run. Gallagher is regarded as more of a defensive/box-to-box midfielder, whereas Dewsbury-Hall is being lined up to play further forward as an attacking midfielder. Players could go the other way as part of an exchange or in standalone deals. Leicester have already registered their interest in a few Chelsea players. They need a striker and a replacement for Dewsbury-Hall if he heads to Stamford Bridge. David Datro Fofana and Cesare Casadei, who was on loan at Leicester for the first half of last season, are two individuals that Chelsea would be prepared to see go in the opposite direction. Albania forward Armando Broja is up for sale but is not involved. While he may not boast the same status as some of his potential new team-mates, Dewsbury-Hall will have quite an advantage over them should he be in place for the start of pre-season training because he knows what Maresca demands and how the Italian wants to operate. A key aspect of how Maresca works is that he is completely wedded to his method of play and the emphasis in Chelsea’s recruitment process will be to sign players that fit into it, rather than for Marseca to find a system that fits the players. Judging from Maresca’s approach at Leicester, some players already at Chelsea will have to adjust their games and learn new disciplines. Those who fail to adjust to Maresca’s vision will quickly find themselves surplus to requirements, either on their way out of the club or sidelined with little opportunity to contribute. For example, without the need for conventional full-backs, Victor Kristiansen and Luke Thomas were moved out on loan last season, and Harry Souttar barely featured for Leicester because his ability on the ball playing out from the back was not deemed to be of the standard required. In contrast, full-back Ricardo Pereira adapted to move into midfield when the team were in possession, and defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was turned into an attacking midfielder. Even Jamie Vardy altered his game to move from the striker playing on the shoulder of the final defender to dropping deeper and linking play to allow midfielders to run in behind him. This was where Dewsbury-Hall played a prominent role for the Championship winners and will surely do so for Chelsea. In Maresca’s plan, the high central midfielders play key roles. With the holding midfielder and inside full-back anchoring in front of a back three, it is up to the central midfielders to play in between the lines and link the attack with the wide players and the lone striker. Under Maresca, Chelsea will attack with a five and defend with five. At Leicester, Dewsbury-Hall was encouraged to get into the box, to contribute goals and assists, while Ndidi offered a little more defensive insurance if the attack broke down and the opposition countered. It paid off. Dewsbury-Hall scored or assisted 29 per cent of Leicester’s 89 goals as they clinched automatic promotion to the Premier League. He scored 12 times, a target that was part of a bet with Maresca. His prize? A dinner paid for by the Italian. Dewsbury-Hall’s importance was so profound that he featured in all but four games in all competitions, starting 43 of Leicester’s 53 games. When he did not play, Leicester struggled to have the same penetration into the box. Dewsbury-Hall will be a big loss to new manager Steve Cooper’s squad if he is gone for good. “Since we started, Kiernan has probably improved the most,” Maresca said in November having previously told Dewsbury-Hall to cut down his long-range shooting. “At the beginning, he was full of responsibility because he’s from the academy and after relegation. After the first international break, he calmed down, and now if you’re watching the game as a fan, it’s a pleasure to watch Kiernan and see how calm he is.” There was a visible change in Dewsbury-Hall during the campaign, a growing maturity in his game compared to his last season in the Premier League, when he only contributed two goals and two assists in 28 starts. “He is fantastic with the ball and he knows when to attack and what the team needs,” Maresca added. “He is so dangerous near the box, and has the quality to score or assist from anywhere.” Maresca’s philosophy brought out the best in Dewsbury-Hall last season. The midfielder’s ambition is to become an England international and a move to Chelsea will be seen as an opportunity to establish himself as a top Premier League player and a contender for a call-up. Dewsbury-Hall has been a late bloomer. He joined the Leicester academy when he was eight and didn’t make his first-team debut until four years ago. But he made significant progress during loan spells with Blackpool and Luton Town before stepping up at Leicester. Now he is looking to make the step up again at Chelsea and Maresca will believe he is more than capable of taking his game to the next level. GO DEEPER Does Enzo Maresca meet Chelsea's seven criteria for their ideal manager?

Chelsea in advanced talks to sign Caleb Wiley from Atlanta https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5603496/2024/06/29/Chelsea-caleb-wiley-transfer-atlanta/ Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign left-back Caleb Wiley from Atlanta United. The deal is not yet done and during talks, the prospect of Wiley heading to Strasbourg — the French club owned by BlueCo, which also controls Chelsea — has been raised. Wiley has been twice capped by the senior United States side since making his debut last year. He is not in Gregg Berhalter’s squad for the ongoing Copa America but was named in the U.S. pre-Olympic roster at the end of May. Wiley has played 81 times for Atlanta since making his senior debut in 2022. This season, he has started all but one of their 19 MLS fixtures. Chelsea have been very active in targeting young players at the start of the summer transfer window. The Premier League side have already brought in Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa and look set to add Boca Juniors defender Aaron Anselmino and Barcelona striker Marc Guiu. They have also made an offer to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City and have held talks over the potential signing of Canada international Jonathan David. In terms of outgoings, full-back Ian Maatsen has joined Aston Villa and winger Omari Hutchinson is close to rejoining Ipswich Town in a permanent deal. Chelsea have sent two players on loan to Strasbourg since BlueCo completed its purchase of the Ligue 1 side in June 2023. Brazilian winger Angelo Santos joined on loan last summer after signing for Chelsea from Santos in his homeland. Santos’ compatriot Andrey Santos joined him in January after cutting short an unsuccessful loan spell at Nottingham Forest. GO DEEPER Chelsea, Strasbourg, BlueCo and a multi-club model yet to convince a sceptical fanbase

Man Utd open talks with Bayern's De Ligt https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c511n42lq0no Manchester United open talks with Matthijs de Ligt, Paris St-Germain consider world-record bid for Lamine Yamal and Manchester City are interested in Joshua Kimmich and Dani Olmo. Manchester United have opened talks with 24-year-old Netherlands centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, who is ready to leave Bayern Munich this summer. (Sky Sport Germany), external Paris St-Germain are prepared to pay a world-record transfer fee to sign Spain winger Lamine Yamal, 16, from Barcelona. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), external Manchester City are interested in signing Bayern Munich's Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, 29, and RB Leipzig's Spain winger Dani Olmo, 26. (Sun), external Chelsea have discussed including Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson, 23, as part of a deal for Newcastle United's Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 24. (Sun), external Chelsea are also ready to offer England midfielder Conor Gallagher, 24, Albania striker Armando Broja, 22, and English centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, 24, as potential makeweights in a deal for Isak. (Football Insider), external Arsenal remain interested in Isak and can match Newcastle’s asking price, yet the Gunners are likely to prioritise a midfield signing. (Football Transfers), external Newcastle are in advanced talks with Nottingham Forest over a move for Sweden winger Anthony Elanga, 22, with Scottish midfielder Elliot Anderson, 21, likely to move in the opposite direction. (Talksport), external Senegal centre-back Moussa Niakhate, 28, is set to complete a move from Forest to Lyon. (Fabrizio Romano), external West Ham have approached Metz about signing Georgia striker Georges Mikautadze, 23, and are also monitoring Lyon's Republic of Ireland defender Jake O’Brien, 23. (Guardian), external Crystal Palace are in line for a significant cash windfall from O'Brien's next move as they included a sell-on clause of up to 25% when they sold him to Lyon last summer. (Mail)

Marseille appoint ex-Brighton boss De Zerbi https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c4nnnl7gx08o

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1916973/Chelsea-news-Omari-Kellyman-Wayne-Rooney Chelsea's newest signing Omari Kellyman left Wayne Rooney furious when he joined Aston Villa's youth setup two years ago. The 18-year-old, who made just a handful of senior appearances for Villa, has signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge which includes the option of a further 12 months. Kellyman joins Chelsea after two years at Villa Park, having joined the west Midlanders from Derby County in 2022. He spent a decade in the Rams' academy system and was keenly admired by former boss Rooney before jumping ship to Villa. Derby were struggling financially at the time and ended up being relegated to League One after receiving a points deduction from the EFL. They needed to sell players and chose to cash in on Kellyman, who moved to Villa for a transfer fee of around £725,000.

Barca lolololol

I had listed Yankuba Minteh (who was superb on loan at Feyenoord) as an available winger 2 and a half weeks ago Elliot Anderson is a CMF who I never really targeted he is the brother of Love Island's Wil Anderson

would so rather have landed him than Dewsbury-Hall Brentford close in on £40m Leeds midfielder Gray https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cd1enxgrkxeo

Gordon would be perfect here, ffs and I am not sold on Isak's durability, especially at an insane price of 100+m quid

it cannot be that would be ridiculous I trust those gooner cunts as far as I could toss a sumo wrestler

completely agree

On 22 August 2023, Hall joined Newcastle United on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy for £28 million, plus £7 million in add-ons.

price already rising was around 17m to 21m quid

AMF or SS I said never a CF for me

this lad has the potential super athlete

fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk really angry over this I predict big things for him in Italy wish he was going to Inter though, lololol

I approve of this deal!

eeeeeeeeeeek poor choice of words, lolol

also, Calafiori is FAR better at LB than Colwill is, so more versatile I get potential semi Maldini vibes from Cala (and I rate Maldini as the best defender ever, edging Beckenbauer, so that is high praise) NOT saying he will be as good as Paolo, but if he even gets 75-80 per cent of the way there, then WOW

Khéphren Thuram Youssouf Fofana Pablo Barrios Manu Koné Edoardo Bove

do it!!!!!!!!