News Thread

There seems to be no limit to Chelsea’s spending under owner Todd Boehly. In New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, Chelsea are set to sign yet another high-priced goalkeeper from Major League Soccer. Last week, several outlets, including well-informed Tom Bogert from The Athletic, reported that Chelsea have made a bid in the region of $15 million (€13.7m) for the 23-year-old Serbian goalkeeper. That opening bid was rejected, but Transfermarkt understands that Chelsea are likely to return with another even higher bid. 

Amid all the money that is being thrown around the Premier League this summer, one of the biggest transfer stories that has yet to reach its conclusion involves one player that was apparently deemed not good enough for the English top-flight last season by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

“We still have a few days,” Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel said when asked about signing a new no. 6 and a defender following his side’s 3-1 victory over FC Augsburg on Sunday. Indeed, the window doesn’t close until Friday, and while the time might be time to sign a no.6 at least Bayern have now identified a potential center-back addition in Chelsea FC’s Trevoh Chalobah. 

With Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia out injured, Manchester United’s only left-back option in the squad is Álvaro Fernandez. Last weekend, Diogo Dalot filled the void in the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest. With all that in mind, manager Erik ten Hag has been desperate to bring in one additional player, and in Marc Cucurella, a solution has now been found. According to various media reports, Man United would like to loan the Spaniard from Chelsea. 

It is now official. Romelu Lukaku and coach José Mourinho are reunited at AS Roma. The 30-year-old striker will join the Serie A side on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season. Although neither club has announced the deal, the transfer has already been registered with the league. Lukaku remains under contract until 2026 at Chelsea. 

Manchester City’s academy is increasingly becoming a goldmine. The next homegrown talent to be sold by the Citizens is midfielder Cole Palmer, who joins Premier League rivals Chelsea on a seven-year deal with a club option of a further year. The England U21 international, who has been part of Pep Guardiola’s squad for the past two years, will reportedly cost an initial fee of €47 million plus €6m in possible add-ons.

It would be an incredible deal for Burnley. The Premier League side want to spend a club-record transfer fee for Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen. According to a report by The Telegraph, both clubs agreed a transfer on deadline day. But a deal appears to be in the balance with Maatsen originally rejecting a potential move. Should the deal go through, Maatsen will join initially on loan, but the deal will include an obligation to buy that guarantees Chelsea £31.5 million (€37m) including add-ons for the 21-year-old Dutch left-back. 

Paris Saint-Germain are the biggest winner during the summer transfer window in terms of increasing the club’s squad value. PSG have increased their squad value by €283.7 million. The Ligue 1 club made up five spots in the squad ranking and is now one of just three clubs with a squad value of more than one billion euros. Among the big winners are also the two clubs from the new financial powerhouse Saudi Pro League: Al-Ahli SFC and Al-Hilal SFC. Among the five teams with the biggest decrease in squad value are three Bundesliga teams, which can be partly blamed on PSG.

The RB Leipzig and Al-Hilal squads were more expensive to put together than Barcelona’s current squad, but the three of them, together, spent as much as Chelsea. A quick glance at the purchase value statistic on Transfermarkt shows how much in fees respective clubs paid and how it correlates to the current squad value. Barça paid €327 million in transfer fees but has a squad value of €814m—a difference of +€487m, which ranks the Catalans first in that statistic ahead of Bayern Munich, who led it for years. 

Could Aaron Ramsdale be on the move? Earlier this week, a report by the Daily Mail suggested that both Bayern Munich and Chelsea are currently monitoring the situation of the Arsenal goalkeeper. Both clubs might be willing to test Arsenal’s resolve to keep Ramsdale by offering in the region of €60 million for the 25-year-old goalkeeper. Ramsdale’s role as the no.1 keeper at Arsenal has been thrown into uncertainty after Mikel Arteta opted to start David Raya in the 1-0 win over Everton this Sunday.