Chelsea Transfers

[Reddish-Blue 2,509]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

That Quenda guy looks immense. Didn't know anything about him or realise how highly touted he is. 

Looks an absolute gem. Was he on anyones radar here? Unreal for a player his age. 

If Quenda and Estevão live up to the potential, we'll have some real quality in attack for years to come!  

 

[Thor 2,717]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

first mention of him here on TC

 

He looks really polished from a first touch perspective. 

I know a lot don't agree, but I do wonder if both him and Estevao lack pace - as I like the super robust and fast wingers, but then again that has failed us recently lol.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,077]

8 hours ago, mkh said:

‼️ I would be surprised as things stand if Jadon Sancho ends up as a Chelsea player.

via@SJohnsonSport

It was a strange decision to sign him in the first place. Was delighted when news of the break clause emerged. (If this was public at the time he joined, I didn't notice it.)

[mkh 601]

‼️ Chelsea have been considering for months the possibility of submitting an offer for Rafael Leao.

The Blues will try to exploit their relationship with Jorge Mendes, but with the knowledge that for less than €100m Milan wouldn't open discussions for the winger.

via@86_longo

[OhForAGreavsie 6,077]

2 hours ago, mkh said:

‼️ Chelsea have been considering for months the possibility of submitting an offer for Rafael Leao.

The Blues will try to exploit their relationship with Jorge Mendes, but with the knowledge that for less than €100m Milan wouldn't open discussions for the winger.

via@86_longo

Feel the same way about this possibility as I did about Sancho. Ridiculous price for a player not worth half as much in my view.

[whats happening 1,621]

i will not trust any young players until they play for our team. they can score 50 goals a season still will not trust

[Vesper 30,213]

Dean Huijsen: The two-footed, progressive centre-back coveted by Europe’s top clubs

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6232044/2025/03/30/dean-huijsen-tactical-profile/

https://archive.ph/5q2qY

Dean Huijsen has already had quite the career.

Barely two years ago, he was plying his trade for Juventus Next Gen, nominally the club’s under-23s side, while captaining the Netherlands’ under-19s. This month, after switching international allegiances, he made his senior debut for the Spanish national team, a testament to his impressive club performances at the heart of Bournemouth’s defence. Europe’s leading clubs are, unsurprisingly, eyeing him up.

His rise has been rapid but the 19-year-old has all the attributes of the archetypal modern-day centre-back — a sentiment shared by his international manager.

“It simply looks like he’s been at the elite level of football for many years,” Luis de la Fuente said after Spain’s Nations League quarter-final victory over the Netherlands. “He has fitted so well with our group with his skill set but also his personal values.”

What You Should Read Next

The inexorable rise of Dean Huijsen has now reached the Spanish national team

The Bournemouth centre-back had a great few days with Spain - and showed he might be the best teenage defensive prospect in the world

For those seeking to know Huijsen’s best attributes, a single 10-second sequence from his most recent game at the Mestalla in Valencia rolls them all up into a neat package.

As Dutch full-back Lutsharel Geertruida looks to play the ball inside to Memphis Depay, Huijsen steps out from defence to calmly intercept and spark a Spain counter-attack. Rather than admire his pass, the teenager runs beyond team-mate Dani Olmo to become the most advanced player, collecting a return pass before sliding a ball in behind to the pacy Nico Williams.

Front-foot defending? Check. Stepping out from the back? Done. An eye for a piercing progressive pass? No problem.

For the handful of people who are yet to do so, it’s time to sit up and take notice of Dean Huijsen.

---

Starting with his defensive work, Huijsen likes to stick in a foot — or head. That has been the case since he first donned a Bournemouth shirt, with nine aerial duels contested on his debut — still the most in a game by a centre-back this season.

Looking at the graphic below, Huijsen is among the most active centre-backs for typical defensive actions, stretching every inch of his 6ft 6in (198cm) frame to rise above an opposition striker, clear the ball from danger, or block a goal-bound shot on his goal.

That is not to say he always waits for the ball to come near him. Beyond the bread-and-butter defending, Huijsen is comfortable stepping out and stifling attacks before they develop — with 4.1 ‘true’ interceptions (which includes interceptions plus blocked passes) per 1,000 opponent touches being the second-highest among centre-backs in the league this season.

The modern-day centre-back is commonly asked to defend wide areas in one-v-one duels, making Huijsen’s proactive style perfectly suited to Andoni Iraola’s aggressive principles of play. Left-back Milos Kerkez is tasked with pushing forward to support Bournemouth’s attack, so Huijsen will often be asked to shuffle across and defend large areas against pacey wingers.

This is neatly shown during February’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion. With Kerkez ahead of the ball as Brighton regain possession, Huijsen calmly moves across to stifle Yankuba Minteh’s momentum by matching his run and preventing him from coming inside on his stronger left foot.

It was a similar story at home against Liverpool. With Kerkez pushing high with Bournemouth in possession (frame one), Mohamed Salah keeps his position to gain an advantage as Liverpool regain the ball and counter-attack. Recognising the danger, Huijsen is quick to shuffle across and make a vital challenge on the Egyptian before he can get up to speed.

The same can be said when tracking his man from a centre-forward position. In this example against Newcastle United, Alexander Isak drifts across to the right flank to receive a pass from Jacob Murphy — who is being closed down by Kerkez.

Staying touch-tight, Huijsen is not afraid to pull away from his left centre-back position to avert any threat by nipping in ahead of Isak and put the ball out for a throw-in.

Those touch-tight actions are crucial to shutting down promising opposition attacks, but Huijsen’s youthful exuberance might need to be channelled a little.

Getting too tight to experienced opposition strikers leaves you at risk of getting pinned or rolled as a centre-back. Forwards are likely to cotton onto Huijsen’s front-foot defending and will look to exploit the space he leaves behind him.

Take this example against the Netherlands. As the ball is fired into Depay, Huijsen jumps from his position in Spain’s back line to intercept the pass. However, Depay uses his body excellently to protect the ball — spinning into space and lofting a pass into the onrushing Tijjani Reijnders to attack the gap that Huijsen has vacated.

A stronger sense of judgement will come with greater experience, but the confidence and bravery that Huijsen exudes are trusted traits that are admired by his club manager.

“His mentality, his head,” Iraola said of Huijsen’s best attributes this month. “He’s confident. He is not afraid of marking any forward and he’s calm on the ball.”

“He knows what he’s doing, he’s under control. Sometimes he will make mistakes like all the others, but there is always a reason for the things he does. And for someone that is 19, it’s really strange to find this at this level.”

 

Huijsen impressed on loan at Roma last season (Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

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Rarer still at such an age is Huijsen’s unique blend of physicality and cultured in-possession play, as comfortable competing in tough defensive duels as he is striding into midfield with the ball at his feet. Add in an expansive — and genuinely two-footed — passing range, and the appeal is clear to see.

The centre-back rarely hesitates when the space opens up ahead, always looking for the chance to glide past the first line of pressure and into midfield. It’s another trait we saw on his first start for Spain, as he receives a pass below from holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who has dropped between the two centre-backs to allow them to push wide.

Huijsen’s first touch is positive, opening his body and pushing the ball ahead, before easing away from chasing club colleague Justin Kluivert with long steps into midfield. It’s a driving run that forces the Dutch back and allows Huijsen to set Marc Cucurella away down the flank.

Barely four minutes later, and a similar move unfolds, as Huijsen breezes around the outside of the first line of the 4-4-2 defensive shape once again.

This time, his impressive passing range comes to the fore, sliding a perfectly-weighted through pass into Williams’ path.

Taking one defender out of the game with his initial burst, before breaking two lines with a pass and creating a chance — all within five seconds of receiving the ball in his own half — this was an eye-catching display of Huijsen’s natural ability to move the ball forward with purpose and penetration.

Much like his appetite for an interception, Huijsen’s commanding presence on the ball is appreciated at club level, by a manager who respects the disruptive power of a marauding run from deep.

“I sometimes value much more a player carrying the ball and forcing things to happen”, Iraola explained an interview with the Independent in January, “When you play too positional — one, two touches to find a free man — you sometimes lose the initiative from the players to just take their man on and attack the spaces.”

That freedom allows Huijsen to step forward with the ball more than most of his positional peers. As we can see from the scatterplot below, only three Premier League centre-backs have played a higher proportion of progressive passes this season, while just five carry the ball out of defence more regularly than the Bournemouth man.

Such fearlessness in possession, aged 19, and in your first full season of senior football, is absolutely not the norm.

Being positive and forward-thinking is one thing, but Huijsen usually has the quality to back it up. He can sometimes be too eager to force the issue — he is stranger to an overhit pass — but of the 17 Premier League players to have attempted at least 150 long passes this season, only four have a higher success rate.

More importantly, Huijsen can pick out forward runs on both feet. His assist for Lamine Yamal against the Netherlands showcased his favoured sand wedge technique on his right, pitching the ball over the defensive line with an accurate, lofted ball.

 

 

On his opposite side, Huijsen produced the following ball in for Bournemouth centre-forward Evanilson, again dropping into the wide space on the outside of the holding midfielder — this time Tyler Adams.

In frame two, he advances beyond the first line of pressure, but this time faces a much deeper Brentford block, with five players across the back line.

Huijsen continues probing, until he reaches the edge of the box and curls in a back-post cross with his left foot, only to be denied an assist by a point-blank save.

Go to press Huijsen, and he can skip through the pressure and attack the spaces in midfield. Sit off him, and he’s still capable of threading through that killer ball.

It’s no wonder that some of Europe’s top clubs are on high alert.

In the Premier League, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Arsenal have been linked, while Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have also been closely monitoring his progress on the continent. The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that a move is expected in the summer, with a £50million ($64.8m) release clause in his contract with Bournemouth.

Could the 19-year-old make the big step up at such a tender age? If his progress is any indication, there’s every reason to believe Huijsen would take it all in his (very long) stride.

[mkh 601]

🔴Arsenal developing strong interest in Viktor Gyokeres as possible striker signing. Andrea Berta firm admirer of 26yo SportingCP forward - expected to figure prominently among AFC options + may be more realistic than Isak.

(via@David_Ornstein)

[Pizy 18,942]

Gyokeres was never going to choose us if this summer anyways so I’m not even mad. Arsenal is in win now mode and are 1 or 2 pieces away from being title favorites next season. So for a #9 like Gyökeres who is just about to enter his prime years and is fully developed as a player a club like Arsenal is perfect. He wouldn’t choose a “project” club like ours who isn’t serious about competing in the near term.

Now, what DOES make me mad is the fact that we’ve given Sporting like 70m+ for a couple of teenagers and are rumored to be interested in even more of their players when that money could’ve gone towards Gyokeres months ago. And with him we’d have been much more comfortable in this race for 4th. 

Now unless we go back in for Osimhen it’ll be yet another summer of us scrounging around for random #9’s. 🤦‍♂️

[TheHulk 2,477]

 

[Amad_diallo 17]

Regarding Geovany quenda, one player that needs to be a bit concerned is Noni madueke.

 

Everything Marcesca criticises madueke for, quenda is the opposite. I can see now why Amorim loves him used him as winger,wingback man utd wanting him before.

 

He does so much work, on and off the ball A player I would compare him to is our former brazilian Willian.

 

Managers love these types of wingers especially in big games, they won't be a liability they track back and cover ground. Tuchel and Mourinho type of wingers.

 

Marcesca is going to love him I believe when he arrives in 2026.

 

Next on my list I want to check-up on have detailed look Estevao the hype Is so big around this kid hard to ignore. Journalists, fans in brazil seem to compare him to Vini,Neymar in terms of talent maybe yes but playing style diffrent type of winger from watching clips looks more of a mould of Cole palmer, younger Bernando silva Monaco days, and Juan mata when he played as a winger. Seems to me he just plays smart attacking football, less dribbling

 

[mkh 601]

@ChelseaFC top South America Scout 🇧🇷Alysson Marins🇧🇷 is currently watching every game at the U17 - South American Championship 2025 in 🇨🇴Kolumbien🇨🇴.
👀✍️🔥

[Reddish-Blue 2,509]

11 hours ago, Pizy said:

Now, what DOES make me mad is the fact that we’ve given Sporting like 70m+ for a couple of teenagers and are rumored to be interested in even more of their players when that money could’ve gone towards Gyokeres months ago. And with him we’d have been much more comfortable in this race for 4th. 

Maybe we got the hint from Gyokeres agent that he wouldn't be interested in a move and decided not to bid? 

I'm sort of surprised that United haven't sealed the deal for Gyokeres considering his strong relationship with Amorim.  

[Vesper 30,213]

Three European giants all want to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea after youngster scores yet another goal for Strasbourg

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/transfer-news/three-european-giants-all-want-to-sign-andrey-santos-from-Chelsea-after-youngster-scores-yet-another-goal-for-strasbourg/

Andrey Santos’ performances at Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg this season are not going unnoticed.

The midfielder scored his 10th goal of the season last Friday, netting in Strasbourg’s 4-2 win against Lyon. Chelsea will have no regrets about sending him to France.

The only problem for them is Santos is now starting to attract interest from some big European clubs.

In January, it was reported that Bayern Munich are keen on signing Santos, but they are not the only ones.

AC Milan, Inter Milan and PSG interested in Andrey Santos

AC Milan have done a lot of business with Chelsea in recent years, and it looks like they could try to do more this summer.

According to Sport Mediaset, Milan, who signed Joao Felix from Chelsea in the January transfer window, want to bring Santos to the San Siro on loan.

The same outlet claims that their city rivals Inter Milan also want to do the same thing, while it is thought that Paris Saint-Germain have some interest in the 20-year-old as well.

PSG’s interest in Santos is not too much of a surprise. They have got to see first-hand what he is capable of, with the Brazilian currently playing in Ligue 1.

Santos recently spoke about his future, claiming that Chelsea have not decided anything yet.

Amid all of this interest in him, though, he will be able to demand regular minutes next season. If Enzo Maresca cannot offer the Brazil international that, then an exit could be a real possibility.

Andrey Santos’ performance against Lyon

Santos did more than score in Strasbourg’s victory over Lyon last week. He also kept the ball well and managed to make a few tackles.

It was a midfield performance that had a lot to it and showed what Santos can bring to Chelsea next season.

With the Blues already having Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and now Dario Essugo, Maresca could have a bit of a conundrum.

[Vesper 30,213]

Fichajes bollocks alert about Chels and Giuliano Simeone.

 

99th percentile for assists: Chelsea submit £29m offer to sign "revelation"

https://www.footballfancast.com/Chelsea-submit-offer-for-giulioano-simeone-atletico-madrid/

However, Maresca's side are yet to make an official bid for Williams, and a different La Liga winger is now entering the frame as a potential option, with a report from Spain revealing Chelsea have now submitted a €35m (£29m) bid for Atletico Madrid's Giuliano Simeone.

 

 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,077]

21 hours ago, whats happening said:

i will not trust any young players until they play for our team. they can score 50 goals a season still will not trust

For me, this includes Geovany Quenda. He has looked very unimpressive to me in the highlight videos I've watched. It might be that there is other material in which he looks a good player but I'm very doubtful. It's not just the outcome of his actions which I don't like, it's how he does what he does in those videos. 

Edited March 31 by OhForAGreavsie

[King Kante 1,643]

37 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

For me, this includes Geovany Quenda. He has looked very unimpressive to me in the highlight videos I've watched. It might be that there is other material in which he looks a good player but I'm very doubtful. It's not just the outcome of his actions which I don't like, it's how he does what he does in those videos. 

Can't judge a player by highlights but I agree. I am not sure what the hype is about from the clips. Hopefully, his all round game is much more developed. Otherwise he is a three year project imo and a Mudryk type risk. 

Edited March 31 by King Kante

[Vesper 30,213]

CMF/DMFs

Joao Neves   
Vitinha   
Martin Zubimendi  
Fermin Lopez   
Douglas Luiz  
Carlos Baleba  
Quinten Timber 
Gabri Veiga  
Jobe Bellingham
Javi Guerra 

youth

Ayyoub Bouaddi
Chris Rigg  
Breno Bidon  
Sverre Nypan   
Christian Ordóñez 

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

Arsenal buying Gyorkeres for the same amount we bought those two Sporting kids just the pinnacle of these sporting directors. Getting Delap on top of it would honestly make me buy a plane ticket to shit on their yard. 

[Vesper 30,213]

30 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Arsenal buying Gyorkeres for the same amount we bought those two Sporting kids just the pinnacle of these sporting directors. Getting Delap on top of it would honestly make me buy a plane ticket to shit on their yard. 

Arsenal developing strong interest in Viktor Gyokeres as they consider striker options

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6240873/2025/03/30/viktor-gyokeres-arsenal-transfer-sporting/

https://archive.ph/TfSek

Arsenal are developing a strong interest in Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres as they consider their options to recruit a striker this summer.

 

Gyokeres has long been admired by Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta — whose appointment was confirmed on Sunday — and is expected to figure prominently among those the club consider signing in the transfer window.

 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a huge fan of Alexander Isak, however, Newcastle United have no intention of letting their star player leave St James’ Park and it would likely take a massive fee for them to even consider his departure.

 

Arsenal have also done a lot of work on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, who may prove to be a more cost-effective solution, but it is unclear if they will proceed with a move and the 21-year-old Slovenia international has multiple suitors.

 

Gyokeres is, therefore, now a more prominent candidate than he might have been in the past.

 

The Sweden international, 26, has become one of Europe’s most prolific attackers since moving to Portugal from Coventry City in 2023.

 

Gyokeres has recorded 85 goals and 26 assists in 92 games for Sporting, helping them lift the Primeira Liga last year.

 

In the league this season, he has scored 30 goals in 26 appearances.

 

Strengthening up front is a priority for Arsenal after season-ending injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus left Arteta with no recognised centre-forward. Midfielder Mikel Merino has recently played there on an emergency basis.

 

An approach for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins during the winter market proved unsuccessful, while Arsenal discussed loaning AC Milan’s Alvaro Morata before he eventually joined Galatasaray.

 

Arsenal return to Premier League action when they face Fulham at home on Tuesday.

What do I need to know about Gyokeres?

Analysis by Tim Spiers from The Transfer Radar 2025

 

Like Luca Toni, Chris Wood and Larry David, Gyokeres has bloomed a little later in his career than most.

 

Why has it taken a few extra years for him to be compared to Erling Haaland, or to be talked about as a candidate to beat Lionel Messi’s single-season goalscoring record?

 

Well, primarily because Gyokeres, similar to Harry Kane, has needed to work hard to improve his game along a career path that has taken him from Brommapojkarna in Sweden to Sporting in Portugal, via stints at Brighton & Hove Albion, Swansea City and Coventry City.

 

He is pretty quick but not especially rapid, his technique is good but he is not particularly skilful.

 

What he possesses — again, like Kane — is an unflinching desire to improve and score goals.

 

Coaches will tell you of a character who could be grumpy or stubborn, but also of someone who needed faith shown in him.

 

Since being made a main central striker for the first time at Coventry City (having found his path blocked at Brighton & Hove Albion where he was often shunted out wide) he has thrived.

 

Give him room and half a chance to shoot and the chances are, the ball will soon be in the back of the net.

 

But strikers Carlos Vinicius, Islam Slimani and, to an extent, Darwin Nunez have struggled to transfer their Primeira Liga form in Portugal to the Premier League.

 

Is Gyokeres different? His hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League suggests so.