Chelsea continue to be one of the busiest clubs in the summer transfer window, with the west Londoners looking to wrap up a host of deals before the September 1 deadline.
We are approaching the final month of the transfer window and thus far, the Blues have spent around £238million (not including add-ons, as they vary in each deal) and have made back almost £160million in sales. Ishe Samuels-Smith’s £6.5million move to Strasbourg, as exclusively revealed on football.london on Tuesday, will be Chelsea’s eighth permanent departure of the summer.
There are set to be numerous more outgoings before the summer window reaches its conclusion. And, likewise, a few more incomings are expected at Stamford Bridge – starting with two Dutchmen.
Chelsea are preparing an opening offer to RB Leipzig for Xavi Simons after positive talks with the German club in recent days, football.london understands. A broad agreement on personal terms has already been reached with the 22-year-old and his entourage, and now it is up to the two clubs to find a compromise.
Bayern Munich have expressed a keen interest in Simons, but the Netherlands international has his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge. There is a genuine confidence from all parties that a deal for Simons, who was an avid follower of Chelsea as a young boy, can be completed in the near future.
Elsewhere, Chelsea are close to reaching a full agreement – understood to be around £37million – with Ajax for Jorrel Hato. football.london understands the 19-year-old defender has been given permission to fly to London to undergo a medical and finalise a move to Stamford Bridge.
More incomings could be targeted after these two deals are completed, with rumours regarding Alejandro Garnacho not going anywhere, but a significant focus will then be placed on outgoings from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are looking to sell Renato Veiga this summer, with the Portugal international strongly linked with a move to Atletico Madrid in recent times.
However, talks with the Spanish outfit have since stalled. Either way, Chelsea are looking to sell Veiga, with the 22-year-old having potential suitors from all around Europe, including in England, Germany and Italy.
Learn more
Chelsea are also trying to find homes for Axel Disasi and Ben Chilwell. Both players are expected to leave this summer with it being made clear to them that they have no future at Stamford Bridge. At the time of writing, however, there does not seem to be significant interest in either.
Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez are both expected to move to Strasbourg on season-long loans. Mike Penders recently moved to Stade de la Meinau for the upcoming campaign, with the Blues once again looking to take advantage of BlueCo’s multi-club model after recent success with Djordje Petrovic and Andrey Santos.
Carney Chukwuemeka is expected to leave Chelsea this summer as well, although the Blues would rather a permanent move for the 21-year-old midfielder. After spending the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, football.london understands Chukwuemeka wants to return to Signal Iduna Park.
The Black and Yellow, though, are understood to prefer a loan deal for Chukwuemeka, while Chelsea want to sell. Leipzig enquired about Chukwuemeka during negotiations for Simons, but it appears the former Aston Villa midfielder has his heart set on a return to Dortmund.
There is plenty of interest in Lesley Ugochukwu, too, with numerous clubs from Spain enquiring about the French midfielder during the window. Armando Broja, meanwhile, has admirers in Germany in the form of Stuttgart and Leipzig, sources have told football.london, as he seeks for a permanent move away from Chelsea.
Raheem Sterling is looking for a route out of Chelsea. There is interest in the 31-year-old winger, who spent last season on loan at Arsenal, from abroad, with clubs from Germany and Saudi Arabia keeping tabs.
Chelsea are willing to allow Christopher Nkunku to leave the club. After two seasons at Stamford Bridge, the Frenchman informed the Blues earlier in the window of his desire to depart. Nkunku has admirers from the Premier League and overseas and will be allowed to leave for the right price.
The Blues are also looking at loan moves for Aaron Anselmino and Marc Guiu. Anselmino has featured just once for Chelsea’s first team – a two-minute cameo in the FIFA Club World Cup – since joining up with the squad in January, while Guiu is expected to fall even further down the pecking order following the arrivals of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap this summer.
