Chelsea remain in the market for a new defender in the summer transfer window. At the moment, Jorrel Hato is the name doing the rounds.
The Blues are interested in signing the Ajax defender this summer, with a move being considered ahead of the 2025/26 season. The Netherlands international can play both as a left-back and a central defender – with his versatility particularly attractive to Chelsea.
Ben Chilwell and Renato Veiga are both up for sale this summer, meaning Enzo Maresca will have limited cover for first-choice left-back Marc Cucurella. While Malo Gusto and Reece James have both been used there in the past, Maresca would be better suited and his side would be more balanced with a left footer there.
Hato is in no rush to leave Ajax – and he has said so himself – with his development and progress over the course of last season hugely promising. The Amsterdam-based club have a reputation of moulding some of Europe’s finest young talents. Hato seems to certainly fit that description.
For the Dutchman, a decision awaits this summer. There are plenty of clubs who have expressed an interest in his services, with Chelsea and Liverpool both understood to be keen, with Ajax said to be holding out for £60million. For Hato, would Chelsea be the right option for him at this time?
That depends on which way you look at it. One thing is for sure: first-team football will not be guaranteed for Hato at Stamford Bridge. In fact, it will be quite difficult to come by given Cucurella and his evolution at left-back and Levi Colwill’s form towards the latter stages of the 2024/25 season.
Colwill was outstanding for Chelsea in the run-in, with the Cobham graduate standing up and making himself counted when his team needed him the most. There have always been huge expectations of the England international, who is just 22-years-old, though with that comes pressure and criticism for even the smallest of mistakes.
There was an enormous improvement from Colwill in the second half of last season, no doubt, yet you feel as if there is still so much to come from the defender. Hato would essentially be a back-up option for Colwill as the left centre-back and that is without mentioning Benoit Badiashile – someone who supporters remain divided on but the club seem to rate extremely highly.
So whichever way you look at it in terms of if Hato will be used as a central defender or a left-back, Hato will likely be second choice at Chelsea. However, the Blues are looking to compete on all four fronts next season, meaning Maresca’s squad is likely to be stretched out to the maximum throughout the course of the campaign.
Couple that with the unprecedented summer Chelsea are having, then there is certainly an argument for Hato to choose west London over other destinations. The Blues are not really having a pre-season, bar the double header of fixtures against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan a week before the Premier League campaign starts, due to the FIFA Club World Cup finishing this past weekend.
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