Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 29,475]

Clearances

The number of clearances made each season has dramatically reduced in the past 20 years, but within our eight-season timeline, the record is not completely unattainable.

In fact, Murillo's 2024/25 tally has already broken this 'all-time' list. If the Brazilian averages 8+ a game for the final nine matches, he would overtake both Kurt Zouma and Nathan Aké.

[Mhsc 998]

3 hours ago, Mário César said:

enzo can go, tbh 

Dont bother if he leaves the club, tbh

Disagree. He is one of the few we have that is a real competitor with a bit of edge to him. He started to find his feet finally learning how to play as more of an 8. He has a high ceiling and will enter his prime in a year or two.

Given what we paid for him and where we've finally got to with him it would be silly to sell him unless its for a fee that nobody would ever pay...

[Vesper 29,475]

Dario Essugo: Chelsea’s new defensive security blanket – with errors to iron out

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6209977/2025/03/17/dario-essugo-Chelsea-analysis/

For those wondering what to expect from Dario Essugo at Chelsea, here are the words he chose to describe his game at the start of his season-long loan at Las Palmas last summer.

“I know I can contribute a more physical game to the team, with a lot of contact,” he said at his unveiling press conference on arrival in Gran Canaria from Portuguese giants Sporting CP, as reported by Las Palmas’s official website. “I like to steal the ball and move forward. I can provide defensive security; that’s what I want, to help achieve the team’s goals.”

On the surface, that description makes Essugo exactly the type of midfielder that many Chelsea supporters have been crying out for this season, either to partner Moises Caicedo against more physically intense Premier League opposition or to relieve part of his huge minutes burden.

Having only celebrated his 20th birthday last week, he also fits the player profile that Clearlake Capital have chosen to channel the bulk of their vast recruitment investment towards over the last two years. But that makes his arrival less likely to satisfy supporters who believe Enzo Maresca’s squad is being held back by a lack of high-level experience.

Essugo has at least been involved in the senior professional game for three years, ever since becoming Sporting’s youngest-ever debutant at 16 years and six days when he came on as a late substitute in a 1-0 league win over Vitoria de Guimaraes on March 20, 2021. His elevation to the first team came before he had made a single appearance for the club’s junior, under-23 or B teams, and the significance of the moment brought him to tears at the final whistle.

Sporting’s coach at the time, Ruben Amorim, was impressed by the quality Essugo brought to first-team training in the days leading up to the match and encouraged him to express himself during his cameo. “I told him: ‘Joao Mario, who has a yellow card, is going to come off’,” Amorim explained afterwards, as reported by MAGG. “I need someone to help (Joao) Palhinha. When you have the ball, you have more freedom than Palhinha.’”

That advice could be applied to the way Essugo, a tenacious defensive midfielder with some playmaking skill, has tried to take onto the pitch ever since. But most of his opportunities to grow in the senior game have come away from Sporting, where he was behind the likes of Palhinha, Joao Mario, Matheus Nunes, Manuel Ugarte, Hidemasa Morita and Morten Hjulmand in the midfield units that helped Amorim surpass Porto and Benfica to win two Primeira Liga titles.

 

Essugo winning the ball back against Betis (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Essugo managed just 10 league appearances for Sporting before embarking on his first loan spell with Portuguese minnows Chaves in August 2024. There he got his first taste of being a regular starter in a team that finished bottom of the Primeira Liga while his parent club finished first, meaning he ended the season with the rare achievement of simultaneously adding a relegation and a league title to his career resume.

He may end up repeating the feat this season; Sporting are well positioned to be Portuguese champions again while Las Palmas are on course to drop out of La Liga. Essugo’s contribution has highlighted both his quality and his flaws.

Only five La Liga midfielders to have played 900 or more minutes average more than Essugo’s 1.9 interceptions per 90 minutes, and there have been signs of real on-ball polish despite the team’s relatively direct style. He uses his body well to shield the ball and win duels, and his willingness to receive passes on the turn and beat a man should lend itself well to the demands of Enzo Maresca’s system at Chelsea. His off-ball movement is improving.

But there have also been plenty of errors — most memorably against Real Valladolid last month, when Essugo’s loose pass presented the ball to Anuar Tuhami and prompted Las Palmas team-mate Scott McKenna to cynically bring the midfielder down, resulting in a straight red card.

Essugo himself has been sent off twice in his last four appearances for Las Palmas. In the second half of a 1-1 draw with Osasuna in January he responded to receiving a second yellow card in the 72nd minute by sarcastically clapping referee Jesus Gil Manzano, which earned him a further two-match suspension. His most recent outing against Real Betis earlier this month was also cut short by a second yellow card in the 61st minute for a slip and rash tackle on Isco.

Indiscipline is not an unusual issue for a midfielder with Essugo’s particular brief, and his 1.8 fouls per 90 minutes for Las Palmas this season are comparable with Caicedo (2.0 fouls per 90) and Enzo Fernandez (1.8 fouls per 90) at Chelsea. Maresca’s first task with his new midfield signing may simply be to curb the 20-year-old’s worst impulses without the ball.

One of Essugo’s best impulses with the ball occurred in the semi-final of the European Under-17 Championship in 2022.

 

Essugo celebrating his goal against France (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

Portugal were eliminated by eventual winners France on penalties but made it to the shootout because Essugo opted to go for goal from 40 yards, connecting with such purity and velocity into the top corner that team-mates put their hands on their heads in disbelief. Goalscoring will never be his primary occupation but striking a ball like that is a nice option to have.

Chelsea’s plan is for Essugo to provide cover for Caicedo next season. He is certainly more seasoned for the position than Mathis Amougou, who was signed for £12.5million ($16.2m) in January on the strength of 18 senior league appearances for Saint-Etienne and is expected to be a Strasbourg loanee in 2025-26.

There are signs in his physicality and technique that Essugo may prove well suited to the Premier League — but as is so often the case with Chelsea, it is a bet on potential.

[mkh 381]

Breaking News Chelsea are considering whether to pay a “significant fee” to get out of their obligation to buy Jadon Sancho from Manchester United this summer.

[@PeteHall86]

Edited March 18 by mkh

[dimmas 126]

I don't get it. Is there a way to bypass the obligation clause by paying a significant fee? Is it like a penalty fee?
And is it a relatively large amount of money, like 20-35% of his agreed price?

Edited March 18 by dimmas

[OneMoSalah 8,841]

1 hour ago, mkh said:

Breaking News Chelsea are considering whether to pay a “significant fee” to get out of their obligation to buy Jadon Sancho from Manchester United this summer.

[@PeteHall86]

Another ridiculous signing like Felix. Although for people (two players who have never really got going/improved in the past 3-4 years) £25m and £42m were deemed good deals. 

Now if there wasn’t already significant proof in the pudding that those pair of fuckwits co sporting directors are hopeless, then here is another example.

They should resign in the summer. Or be pushed out. Either way, Sancho, Felix, KDH, Lavia (whats going on with him btw £55m and hes probably played 10 games in 2 seasons), Jorgensen, Sanchez, Mudryk, Tosin, Disasi… the list could go on and on too.

Edited March 18 by OneMoSalah

[mkh 381]

🔵Sancho and also to some extent Enzo Maresca was a Joe Shields move.

Edited March 18 by mkh

[mkh 381]

Chelsea consider ripping up £25m Jadon Sancho agreement with Man Utd

United loanee's erratic form is making the Blues think twice about keeping him.

Chelsea are considering whether to pay a “significant fee” to get out of their obligation to buy Jadon Sancho from Manchester United this summer.

The forward joined the Blues on loan last year, on terms that included a £25m obligation to make the deal permanent as the end of the season, should Chelsea finish above 14th in the Premier League. It was assumed Sancho would never return to his parent club as a result.

There is however, The i Paper understands, a clause in the deal where Chelsea can get out of the transfer if they pay a penalty fee, something they are understood to be considering as an option.

As it stands, Chelsea plan to stick to the terms of the agreement, but having already agreed to sign another winger, Geovany Quenda from Sporting Lisbon, the club could cut their losses on Sancho and pay a fee to avoid taking on his £250,000-a-week wages on a permanent basis.

Quenda is understood to have chosen Chelsea over United, where former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is a huge admirer, due to the fact he wants to play as a winger rather than wing-back.

He will compete for a place at Chelsea alongside Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Sancho, should he stay. Mykhailo Mudryk is currently suspended pending the outcome of a failed drugs test but would provide further competition as and when his situation is resolved.

Sancho’s erratic form is understood to have caused Chelsea to think twice about keeping him. After making an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge, the 24-year-old has scored just twice and registered one assist since the end of September.

 

United do not want Sancho back, and are planning for next season without him on the roster. Should he return, minority co-owners Ineos would want to move him on quickly to raise funds for Amorim’s squad overhaul.

Keeping any semblance of a relationship with United does not appear to be on Sancho’s radar either, after he wrote “freedom” as a comment on Marcus Rashford’s social media post following his loan move to Aston Villa.

[mkh 381]

🙆‍♂️ Omari Kellyman has announced that his season is over due to re-injuring his hamstring.

[Special Juan 27,629]

He has caught Lavia and Reece Jamesitus

[mkh 381]

Bournemouth lead for Kelleher

Bournemouth are leading the race to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher ahead of other suitors, with Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all keeping tabs on his situation.

via@FrazFletcher

 

Borussia Dortmund will not exercise the 35 million euros buy option for Carney Chukwuemeka. Whether another loan is realistic and even desired by the club will only become clear in the summer whether and if so, in which European competition the club will play.

via@RNBVB

 

Joao Felix, set to leave AC Milan at the end of the season and return to Chelsea. AC Milan is not purchasing him. (@MatteMoretto)

 

🔴Kelleher fortunately does not come to us unfortunately Kepa,Chukwuemeka,Felix all return to Chelsea.

[Strike 7,317]

2 hours ago, mkh said:

Breaking News Chelsea are considering whether to pay a “significant fee” to get out of their obligation to buy Jadon Sancho from Manchester United this summer.

[@PeteHall86]

Unnecessary moves at the end of the summer window : Felix and Sancho. Added nothing. More work and financial losses to get them out, did not even fit their philosophy of going for youngsters. Only more evidence for the fact that ownership has no idea what its doing

Edited March 18 by Strike

[Strike 7,317]

Read somewhere on Twitter. They should do Chelsea v ManU - loser gets Sancho at the end of the season. It will be box office and sell out Wembley because both teams will be going for it

[TheHulk 2,051]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

Another ridiculous signing like Felix. Although for people (two players who have never really got going/improved in the past 3-4 years) £25m and £42m were deemed good deals. 

Now if there wasn’t already significant proof in the pudding that those pair of fuckwits co sporting directors are hopeless, then here is another example.

They should resign in the summer. Or be pushed out. Either way, Sancho, Felix, KDH, Lavia (whats going on with him btw £55m and hes probably played 10 games in 2 seasons), Jorgensen, Sanchez, Mudryk, Tosin, Disasi… the list could go on and on too.

While I agree the directors are garbage it's hard to gauge exactly how useful players like Sancho or Felix are for us because they are being assessed by Maresca.. I feel like people want to shift all the blame to the players saying they are shit when Maresca is garbage in gauging a player usefulness. 

The owners are here for 3 years now and still no top manager has come through the gates to actually asses players, reminder a top manager can make gold out of shit and is probably the most important piece in a team.

Also everyone was shitting on Ousmane Dembele when we were linked to him a few years ago the same way Sancho or Felix are today yet Enrique has managed to turn Dembele into a world class player this season. 

Edited March 18 by TheHulk

[TheHulk 2,051]

1 hour ago, mkh said:

Chelsea consider ripping up £25m Jadon Sancho agreement with Man Utd

United loanee's erratic form is making the Blues think twice about keeping him.

Chelsea are considering whether to pay a “significant fee” to get out of their obligation to buy Jadon Sancho from Manchester United this summer.

The forward joined the Blues on loan last year, on terms that included a £25m obligation to make the deal permanent as the end of the season, should Chelsea finish above 14th in the Premier League. It was assumed Sancho would never return to his parent club as a result.

There is however, The i Paper understands, a clause in the deal where Chelsea can get out of the transfer if they pay a penalty fee, something they are understood to be considering as an option.

As it stands, Chelsea plan to stick to the terms of the agreement, but having already agreed to sign another winger, Geovany Quenda from Sporting Lisbon, the club could cut their losses on Sancho and pay a fee to avoid taking on his £250,000-a-week wages on a permanent basis.

Quenda is understood to have chosen Chelsea over United, where former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is a huge admirer, due to the fact he wants to play as a winger rather than wing-back.

He will compete for a place at Chelsea alongside Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Sancho, should he stay. Mykhailo Mudryk is currently suspended pending the outcome of a failed drugs test but would provide further competition as and when his situation is resolved.

Sancho’s erratic form is understood to have caused Chelsea to think twice about keeping him. After making an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge, the 24-year-old has scored just twice and registered one assist since the end of September.

 

United do not want Sancho back, and are planning for next season without him on the roster. Should he return, minority co-owners Ineos would want to move him on quickly to raise funds for Amorim’s squad overhaul.

Keeping any semblance of a relationship with United does not appear to be on Sancho’s radar either, after he wrote “freedom” as a comment on Marcus Rashford’s social media post following his loan move to Aston Villa.

Unless his wages are big I don't see why we wouldn't get him on a permanent deal, garbage players are being sold between clubs for 25m nowadays if Sancho is a complete bust you telling me no one will be willing to buy him for 20m when every garbage player nowadays is worth 20m? I don't believe it, we should easily flog him off if he sucks and recoup most of the money for him instead of paying some penalty fee worth 10m or more.

Edited March 18 by TheHulk

[TheHulk 2,051]

1 hour ago, mkh said:

🙆‍♂️ Omari Kellyman has announced that his season is over due to re-injuring his hamstring.

I saw this guy in his Mercedes GLE, bet he couldn't give a fuck about football now that we set him up for years, probably couldn't believe his eyes these dumb directors bought him and gave him a long contract with a nice wage bump for doing fucking nothing in professional football.

Edited March 18 by TheHulk

[TheHulk 2,051]

How about you retire from football if we don't get Top 4, that's the only way you can redeem yourself Robert.

[DH1988 1,336]

1 hour ago, TheHulk said:

How about you retire from football if we don't get Top 4, that's the only way you can redeem yourself Robert.

Best bench himself then.