The last few weeks have been extremely quiet in terms of incoming transfer activities for Chelsea fans right until the last few days, but the start of friendlies have got all the Chelsea fans very much excited. Performances of players like Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos, Cesare Casadei and many more. But the excitement of exhibitions has somewhat been disrupted by the negotiations for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo. The negotiations have not progressed much as the seagulls to date have rejected three bids with the latest one reaching to figures of £80 million plus add ons. The Seagulls’ obsession with Levi Colwill and West London club’s stance of not selling the promising centerback has led talks come to a stand still.
Along with that came the surprise departure of Chelsea’s technical director Christopher Vivell, despite joining the Blues just seven months ago. Having appointed him in December 2022, the Blues have placed him on gardening leave with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart taking over Vivell’s role, with the German’s responsibilities having been diminished by the influence of the pair. Having missed the weekly transfer roundup for a couple of weeks now for a number of reasons, here I present to you an article piece to you which comprises of all the credible news that has taken place for the past couple of weeks.
1. Chelsea continue to purchase for the future:
The Blues have been actively purchasing new young talent to the club by signing young defender Ishé Samuels-Smith from Everton on a reported £4m fee. Ishé Samuels-Smith has been recruited to cover the gap the Under-21 side has on the left back spot which has been weak for a while now. In addition to that, CFC have also completed the signing of Santos winger Angelo Gabriel. The 18-year-old has put pen to paper on a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge after joining in a deal believed to be worth approximately £13m. Since the Brazilian’s move, he has featured in the two friendlies against Wrexham and Brighton where he has impressed more than the new young signing of Diego Moreira who is expected to contribute more to the development squad this season.
Angelo Gabriel, in spite of impressive showings, is expected to be loaned out to the sister club Strasbourg for the upcoming season. Even with the shortage of right wingers in the squad, sending Angelo out on loan might seem strange to a lot of the fanbase but with no experience in Europe, throwing him directly in the deep end of Premier League football can be a wrong decision. In the last couple of days, Fabrizio Romano has also confirmed the purchase of Lesley Ugochukwu and Axel Disasi from Rennes and AS Monaco respectively. Ugochukwu will most probably be sent out on loan this season whereas Disasi has been brought in as a replacement for the injured Wesley Fofana who will be out for most of the upcoming season.
2. Outgoings continue to dominate the window:
Just like the whole of June, the last couple of weeks have been dominated by departures only as Chelsea have said goodbye to seven players. An an emotional farewell was sent to club legend Cesar Azpilicueta who has joined Atletico Madrid on a free transfer. Along the lines of free transfer, Abdul Baba Rahman joined Greek side PAOK FC and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has recently gone to French side Marseille on a three year contract. Young stars like David Datro Fofana and Omari Hutchinson have joined Union Berlin and Ipswich Town respectively on loan for the upcoming season.
Christian Pulisic went to AC Milan for a reported fee of £20m ending his underwhelming stint of four years at the club which was hindered by constant injuries. Along with the American international, CFC have also let go of the Wales international midfielder Ethan Ampadu to Championship side Leeds United for £7m plus add ons reaching to £10m. The sale of Ampadu seems to be a bit strange with the lack of senior midfield cover the club has after the sales of the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus Cheek and many more.
3. Blues interested in signing multiple promising players:
Chelsea have registered their interested in a number of players in the past couple of weeks. With the team lacking players in right wing and central attacking midfield position, the English capital side targeted the likes of Ryan Cherki, Mohammad Kudus, Michael Olise and Gabriel Veiga. Earlier in the week it seemed that Gabriel Veiga is the one the club would make a move for but Paris Saint-Germain intervened and seems to have stolen the player. But since then, the story has gone quiet and it is said that CFC are being kept informed of the situation. Cherki from Lyon also seems to have attracted Chelsea’s interest and it was reported that the club were ready to make a bid but the French side are determined not to sell their prized asset despite their financial difficulties.
According to David Ornstein, Chelsea are close to agreeing personal terms with Ajax winger Mohammad Kudus but the main difficulty lies between the two clubs agreeing a fee as the Dutch side want the player for another season which could result in Ajax asking for an astronomical fee. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Blues are considering triggering Micheal Olise’s release clause for a fee of around £35m. Both Chels’ and Manchester City have the player on their list and are waiting for clarity about his conditions as he picked up an injury last month.
The final star Chelsea are looking to bring to the team is Elye Wahi from Ligue 1 club Montpellier in a deal worth £26m and plan to send him straight out on loan. The Blues are mindful of the importance of regular playing time for his development and the potential loan destination of Strasbourg is being considered.
4. Romelu Lukaku situation worsens:
Romelu Lukaku’s situation at Chelsea goes from bad to worse. The Belgium striker after having a good start to his second stint at the club, did that disrespectful Sky Italia interview without the permission of the club. Since then Lukaku seems to have burnt all the bridges between him and the Blues fanbase and their hierarchy. CFC were then forced to loan the striker to Inter Milan on a minimal fee due to his reluctance to join any other team. The striker had an underwhelming first six months to his loan spell but picked up form towards the end of the season.
Irrespective Inter’s difficult financial situation, the Italians gave Lukaku the assurances that they will do everything to sign the Belgium international. But now right at the last moment when Inter Milan had prepared a bid worth £30m plus a further £4m in add-ons, the Belgium international and his representative, Sebastian Ledure, were not able to be contacted on the phone. Following this reports have come out that the striker was unhappy with not starting the Champions League final against Manchester City, which may have played a part in Lukaku opening up the possibility of a switch to rivals Juventus.
From a fans point of view, Lukaku will have the least amount of sympathy from any of the Chelsea fans seeing his behaviour towards the club and now the same could also be said for all the Inter Milan fans. But all of this chaos can be very detrimental for CFC as moving on the Belgium international striker has now become of the utmost importance as having Lukaku near the first team squad can prove to be the downfall of the club this season.