Chelsea Transfers

[Pizy 18,515]

At least it feels like the Garnacho talk has died down today. But still just a week or so left in the window and not even a whisper that we’re actively pushing for a damn striker.

Maybe if Jackson misses a couple more sitters tomorrow we’ll do so?

[King Kante 1,526]

1 hour ago, mkh said:

Dortmund are currently looking for a transfer fee of €100m for Jamie Gittens, according to reports. 🤔

One thing every PL club should've learnt by now. Do not buy attacking players from the Bundesliga and expect them to put up similar numbers in the PL. Only exception is obviously great players like Hãland and Bellingham. 

[mkh 336]

Manchester United have asked to be kept informed of developments regarding Christopher Nkunku's future.

@ESPNFC

[King Kante 1,526]

6 minutes ago, mkh said:

Manchester United have asked to be kept informed of developments regarding Christopher Nkunku's future.

@ESPNFC

It is so obvious this Garnacho thing is going to be a FFP work around. Watch out for something like £60m Garnacho, £80m Nkunku or something similar. 

[mkh 336]

Napoli and Borussia Dortmund are now close to reaching full agreement for Karim Adeyemi.

The package will be less than reported €50m, as talks are now advanced for fee around €40m.

(Fabrizio Romano)

 

🗯No Garnacho for Napoli‼️‼️

[mkh 336]

David Moyes confirms Everton are in talks with Chelsea to cancel Broja's loan: "At the moment there isn’t a firm decision been taken but from the conversations we’ve had it’s a possibility." Wouldn't surprise me if Chukwuemeka and Chilwell are spoken about too. Let's see. 

[LAM09 6,827]

1 hour ago, King Kante said:

One thing every PL club should've learnt by now. Do not buy attacking players from the Bundesliga and expect them to put up similar numbers in the PL. Only exception is obviously great players like Hãland and Bellingham. 

Son, Dzeko are two that come to mind who did alright. We'll see if Marmoush follow suits as well.

[mkh 336]

Lyon's 17-year-old striker Enzo Molebe is currently the subject of concrete interest from Chelsea, who could well accelerate in the coming days to try to snatch his signature.

~ @B_Quarez

[Vesper 29,171]

6 hours ago, mkh said:

💬 Maresca: “Robert Sanchez is okay. It's a matter for me to understand that anything can happen. How many times has Moi missed a pass? Many times. How many times has Nico missed a goal? Many times. How many times has Noni missed a cross? Many times. Robert has made four mistakes”

 

Maresca on Sanchez four mistakes: 

“It’s normal, there isn’t anything strange behind this”🗯

 

🤢🤢🤮🤮😡

he has made FAR more than 4 mistakes, ffs

do NOT try and gaslight, Maresca!

[Vesper 29,171]

3 hours ago, mkh said:

Dortmund are currently looking for a transfer fee of €100m for Jamie Gittens, according to reports. 🤔

fucking delusional

[Vesper 29,171]

Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/155519836/Chelsea

• Deportivo La Coruña have rejected a €15m bid from Chelsea/Strasbourg’s BlueCo Group. Depor have decided to keep Yeremay at the club until the end of the season with the same clause and same contract.

• Chelsea are set to approach Man United for Alejandro Garnacho, as expected. Napoli remain keen but no agreement on a €50m package as it was rejected by Man United. The Red Devils are insisting on a €70m fee.

• Chelsea are not working on a deal for Reda Belahyane at this stage of the window despite reports. The Verona midfielder isn’t in talks and Chelsea have different targets.

• Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Dastan Satpaev from Kazakhstan. Transfer fee is a €4m package, add-ons included, from Kairat Almaty. It will be a record transfer for the Kazakhstan league and Dastan will join Chelsea on a five year deal plus one year option when he turns 18.

• BlueCo group are keen on signing Mathis Amougou, an 18 year old midfielder from St Etienne. Chelsea/Strasbourg are monitoring him closely.

• Si Phillips makes a great argument for why Liam Delap should be Chelsea’s new front man.

[Vesper 29,171]

Enzo Maresca says Chelsea do not need midfield signings despite Romeo Lavia injury

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6085734/2025/01/24/Chelsea-january-transfers-update/

Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea do not need to sign another midfielder in this window despite Romeo Lavia being ruled out with injury for the third time this season.

Lavia sustained a muscular injury against Bournemouth last week and as reported by The Athletic, is going to be on the sidelines for weeks.

The 21-year-old has also had two spells out with hamstring problems this campaign and has yet to play a full 90 minutes since moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2023 from Southampton for an initial £53million. In 2023-24, he played just 32 minutes.

Renato Veiga, who can play in midfield, is expected to join Juventus on loan today to further cut down Maresca’s options, while Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could all leave before the deadline closes on February 3.

When asked if the club could do with another midfielder, he replied: “No. I think we have enough players to cover that situation with Moi (Caicedo), with Enzo (Fernandez), and in the last game Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall] played there. So in this moment, the intention is not to go for one more midfielder.”

GO DEEPER

Do Chelsea have a problem to resolve in midfield?

Fernandez, who missed the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night, is in line to return from a muscular injury against Manchester City on Saturday.

Chelsea have also been linked with a move for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho but Maresca has downplayed that too.

He added: “No, no, I’m happy with the ones we have in this moment. I have said many times, on the right side is Pedro [Neto] and Noni [Madueke] and on the left side is Jadon [Sancho]. Misha [Mudryk] was with us but now he is not with us, Tyrique [George] is a young profile that can help us. In this moment, we are okay.”

[Vesper 29,171]

Why Renato Veiga is joining Juventus on loan six months after Chelsea transfer

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6083712/2025/01/24/renato-veiga-Chelsea-transfer-loan-juventus-analysis/

For those wondering why Renato Veiga wanted to leave Chelsea on loan for Juventus in January only six months after arriving at Stamford Bridge from Basel in a €14million deal, part of the answer can be found with a glance at the fixture list.

Chelsea play 10 matches between Saturday’s trip to take on Manchester City and the March international break. Seven of those 10 are currently slated to be in the Premier League — the competition in which Veiga has started just once this season and played 177 minutes in total. His last league appearance was at Tottenham seven weeks ago — and was only as a substitute in the 89th minute.

Realistically, only the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton on February 8, the FA Cup fifth round — if Chelsea get there — and the two-legged Conference League round-of-16 tie in early March offered Veiga a chance of significant first-team minutes before Roberto Martinez picks his Portugal squad for the Nations League quarter-final against Denmark.

That is a critical consideration for Veiga, who started for Martinez as a left-sided centre-back in both of Portugal’s group matches in the Nations League, against Poland and Croatia, in November. According to sources close to the player, who spoke anonymously to protect relationships, he is keen to give himself the best possible chance to establish himself in the position ahead of the Nations League knockout stage and the 2026 World Cup.

Events in January crystallised the reality that Veiga would not get that particular opportunity at Stamford Bridge under Enzo Maresca. Significant injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile left Chelsea’s squad worryingly light at centre-back. But after checking on Crystal Palace’s valuation of Marc Guehi, the club instead opted to recall Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Selhurst Park to provide the Italian with another experienced option.

Veiga has been trialled by Maresca at left-sided centre-back only twice, in Conference League victories over Panathinaikos and Shamrock Rovers, while Levi Colwill has established himself as one of Chelsea’s most consistent starters in the position in the Premier League. The bulk of the Portugal international’s minutes have come as an inverted left-back in the Italian’s system, as well as a couple of starts in defensive midfield.

 

Veiga wants to establish himself for Portugal (Damir Sencar/AFP via Getty Images)

“I had a chat with Renato,” Maresca said when asked about his use of Veiga in a press conference earlier this month. “In terms of playing in the position that he is playing with us, that gave him the chance to join the national team and also probably the chance to get this speculation around him. That means clubs are looking for him. Clubs look for players that are doing well, not that are doing badly.

“If there is a player who just wants to play in just one position, they are going to struggle. They have to adapt, they have to learn to play in different positions, which is a good thing for the team.”

There is no suggestion of any issues between Veiga and Maresca, who cited a “technical decision” to omit the 21-year-old from his matchday squad against Wolves on Monday as his loan move to Juventus gathered momentum.

Nor is Veiga unhappy at Chelsea. On the contrary, he has settled well into life in London, enjoys working at Cobham and still believes Stamford Bridge is where his long-term future — his contract runs until June 2031, with a club option to extend for a further year — ultimately lies.

But once major European clubs signalled an interest in taking him on loan as a regular starter, Veiga’s short-term thinking began to change. Borussia Dortmund were the first to make a strong push, but the landscape then shifted with the sacking of Nuri Sahin. Marseille were also loan suitors, while other clubs made proposals to buy him.

GO DEEPER

With Sahin gone, what next for Borussia Dortmund?

Chelsea’s initial position was that only a sale would be sanctioned in January, but Veiga made it clear he did not want to leave the club permanently or as part of any loan agreement that included an option to buy. After several conversations between the parties, the club’s stance softened to consider a straight loan if certain playing and economic conditions were met.

Juventus made the most compelling pitch: a loan fee of €5million ($5.21m) with a possible €1m in bonuses, regular game time between now and May, and a return to Chelsea in time for the start of the Club World Cup, which begins in mid-June. Thiago Motta also spoke to his camp to explain the role he’d play in his squad.

 

Veiga has featured infrequently in the Premier League (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Veiga will most likely fill a void in the heart of Juventus coach Thiago Motta’s defence created by the ACL injury suffered by Brazil international Bremer in October and the imminent departure of Danilo. He will have a chance to learn and prove himself at a club and in a league with a formidable defensive tradition. He’ll also get the opportunity to test himself in the Champions League. The aim is for him to complete a medical and be registered in time to make his Serie A debut against Napoli on Saturday.

Juventus’ willingness to pay the sizeable loan fee did not just satisfy Chelsea, it also helped reassure Veiga that he will have a big role to play in Turin — a message that was reiterated to him after the loan deal was verbally agreed on Wednesday. He hopes to be picked primarily at centre-back but will happily play wherever he is needed.

Game time is his top priority and he appreciates Chelsea’s decision to allow him to leave on loan to get it. A source close to Veiga said he is fully aware of how fortunate he is to play for two of Europe’s biggest clubs in less than a year.

Chelsea have no plans to sign an alternative left-back in January despite Veiga’s departure. Reece James and Malo Gusto have both started on the left of Maresca’s back four in the Premier League this season and with Marc Cucurella firmly established as the first choice for the games that matter, there is no shortage of viable options in that area of the pitch.

The hope on all sides is that Veiga will return to Chelsea this summer as a more experienced and well-rounded player, capable of playing a bigger role for Maresca. But even if the Juventus loan is less than a resounding success, there is a fair chance it will increase the value of a footballer whose relative obscurity back in July was reflected in his low transfer fee.

[Vesper 29,171]

Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho ‘improving in every aspect’ – Ruben Amorim

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6084706/2025/01/23/alejandro-garnacho-manchester-united-future/

Ruben Amorim has said Alejandro Garnacho is “improving in every aspect of the game” amid speculation over his Manchester United future.

The Argentina international played the full 90 minutes as United defeated Rangers 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday, a week after Napoli approached United over his availability — an offer which was not entertained by the Premier League club.

Chelsea have also made an enquiry over the 20-year-old, who United would reluctantly consider selling as part of their efforts to comply with football’s financial rules.

The club are not actively looking to sanction the exit of Garnacho but the reality of their situation means the possibility cannot be discounted if suitable offers arrive.

GO DEEPER

Mainoo and Garnacho's futures will test INEOS' strategy - and trust with supporters

“I think he’s improving in every aspect of the game,” Amorim said after the game against Rangers.

“He was better today playing inside, also outside, changing positions, he’s improving the recovering position. You can see it until 90 minutes he’s always there recovering and helping, sometimes showing some frustration and that is good because he wants more.

“I think he has potential to be so much better in every situation in the game. What I can say is he understood what I was trying to do, was really clear, I just want to help them but in the end it’s them that do the job.”

United are next in action on Sunday with a trip to Fulham in the Premier League.

[Vesper 29,171]

2 hours ago, mkh said:

Manchester United have tabled a €30million bid for Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu. MUFC More from @JamesHorncastle and @lauriewhitwell

he also plays at RW

[LAM09 6,827]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

he has made FAR more than 4 mistakes, ffs

do NOT try and gaslight, Maresca!

It's such a stupid way to look at things. Those "four mistakes" have led directly to goals while Caicedo's misplaced passes haven't.

[Pizy 18,515]

12 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

It's such a stupid way to look at things. Those "four mistakes" have led directly to goals while Caicedo's misplaced passes haven't.

Like @Vesper says, it’s gaslighting from Maresca. I really don’t know what it is about Sanches that he loves so much. Of course he’s never going to kill a player in public but Sanchez feels completely untouchable in terms of his place in the team which is crazy.

[LAM09 6,827]

2 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Like @Vesper says, it’s gaslighting from Maresca. I really don’t know what it is about Sanches that he loves so much. Of course he’s never going to kill a player in public but Sanchez feels completely untouchable in terms of his place in the team which is crazy.

The two most important positions in a football team are held by players that are exactly that: untouchable. Sanchez & Jackson can effectively do no wrong, and we have paid for it multiple times already.