Chelsea transfer roundup (9 August to 15 August 2021)
The first game week of Premier League matches proved why this league is the best and most competitive league in the footballing world. The 2021/22 Premier League season kicked off with Arsenal traveling to Brentford, which turned out to be the most surprising result as the Bees beat their north London rivals—deservingly—2-0. Saturday was started in style as Manchester United thrashed Leeds United 5-1, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a hat-trick and Paul Pogba providing four assists. Just after that, Chelsea kicked off its Premier League campaign by slotting three past Crystal Palace. Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevoh Chalobah, who was named the Man of the Match in his Premier League debut, all got onto the scoresheet for the Blues.
On Sunday, the Premier League’s opening week ended with a surprise win for Tottenham Hotspur after Spurs defeated the defending champion Manchester City, 1-0, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Moving away from top flight action, Chelsea arranged a friendly behind closed doors on Thomas Tuchel’s request to give some minutes to the players who came back late from their holidays. The friendly against Weymouth ended with the Blues winning by 13-0. Some of the players involved in this game were Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Ethan Ampadu and many more. Now, after the much-needed acquisition of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, the Blues are not looking to slow down in the transfer market.
More from Chelsea FC Transfer Rumours
- Shocking transfer news as Chelsea open to selling star player Reece James
- The real reason why Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen rejected Burnley
- Chelsea’s agreement with Lukaku revealed as EPL club lurk
- Chelsea to spend £85m on two young stars as release clause activated
- Chelsea want to hijack Liverpool for a second signing
Here’s the fifth installment of the Chelsea transfer roundup, detailing the future plans of the club in the market and confirming a few departures:
1. Tammy Abraham moves to AS Roma for £34 million
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has moved to AS Roma for £34 million, with the Blues having negotiated a buyback clause. The contract clause is set to be around £68 million, which will be activated after two seasons, in June 2023. Roma’s general manager Tiago Pinto traveled to England last weekend to convince Abraham to join the Italian side for the 2021/22 season, due to the departure of Edin Dzeko to Inter Milan. Pinto seems to have convinced the English international as he has completed his medical by traveling to Rome on Sunday. Tammy Abraham is said to have penned a five-year deal worth €6 million a year.
Lukaku’s return to Chelsea from Inter Milan would’ve meant significantly reduced playing time for the 23-year-old. The club decided to cash in on a player who has two years left on his contract before he was unwilling to extend his time in SW6 further. Abraham’s Chelsea career has been very decorated, to say the least. The forward went on to score 30 goals in 82 appearances, helping the club winning its second Champions League and capture the Super Cup. Under Tuchel, Abraham mostly saw the action from the bench and was used scarcely. This move to Roma for Abraham seems like the right one for both the club and the player as at this point of his career, the forward needs to play regularly in order to improve and fulfill his potential.
Since the start of this transfer window, it was always known that Abraham would be sold. Everyone close to the forward knew that his preferred destination was Arsenal, but due to the Gunners’ inability to offload players like Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, Roma was able to capitalize on this situation. According to many reports, the allure of playing for Jose Mourinho was too good to turn down for Abraham.