With only a day left before the new Premier League season begins for Chelsea, the Blues are gearing up for their opening game against Crystal Palace on Sunday. However, they were dealt a major setback earlier this summer, when arguably their best centre-back, Levi Colwill, suffered an ACL injury and is now expected to miss most of the 2025-26 campaign if not all of it.
As a result, Chelsea will have a shortage of centre-back options going into their first Premier League game of the season. And judging from Enzo Maresca's comments, it feels like he is keen for the club to sign another defender even though they are believed to be looking for solutions internally at this point.
In June, it was reported that Chelsea were a possible destination for centre-back Ismael Doukoure, who is currently at Strasbourg. Now fresh updates have arrived regarding this, as there has been a recent development over the player's future.
According to L’Equipe, Doukoure has been removed from Strasbourg's first-team squad after refusing to extend his contract. He has been sent to train with the reserve team. On the other hand, negotiations with Chelsea are at a standstill and have so far been unsuccessful.
Chelsea's negotiations with 22-year-old player have stalled
The French U21 international has been a mainstay under Liam Rosenior, but over the past year, he has had his issues as well. Doukoure is believed to have wanted to go to Wolfsburg last summer, but the Ligue 1 club were not willing to part ways. Now, he is refusing to sign an extension and could leave as a free agent next summer.
BlueCo are believed to view Doukoure as a player with the potential to play for Chelsea but this situation does raise question marks over his future. He has only one year left on his contract, and with no renewal in sight, Strasbourg would not want to see him leave for nothing.
A transfer to Chelsea during this transfer window is still highly unlikely. Could a free transfer be on the cards next summer?