One in, two out at Chelsea: Romano announces transfer to be completed TODAY
Chelsea’s busy summer is set to continue, with Mauricio Pochettino’s squad set to have one new arrival imminently as two more players edge towards the Stamford Bridge exit.
The Blues are poised to complete the £4 million signing of Everton youngster Ishe Samuels-Smith, with a deal having been verbally agreed for the 17-year-old, who will continue the club’s Vision 2030 project.
The Athletic report that the deal is in the process of being completed, even if Samuels-Smith has, unusually, not played a single senior professional match, even as a loan player.
Furthermore, he will only sign a contract until 2026 – a short-term deal by the standards of Chelsea, who have routinely handed out deal of seven or eight years since Todd Boehly took command of the club little over 12 months ago.
Samuels-Smith is a defender, who typically played left-back but who can also play in the centre of the rearguard.
Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano reports that Chelsea are close to offloading two players.
The first of these is Cesar Azpilicueta, who has been with the Blues since signing from Marseille for just €6m in 2012.
The Spanish defender is set to leave for Atletico Madrid on a free transfer, with a deal in place since last week, according to the football transfer news specialist.
Azpilicueta will sign his contract on Thursday and bring an end to a storied spell with Chelsea, who he amassed more than 500 appearances.
Secondly, USA international attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic is close to the exit door, with Milan getting close to securing a deal for the player, who is pushing for the chance to move to the San Siro side.
Milan have made a second offer of €22m for Pulisic, Romano reports, with talks still in progress over this offer for a player who arrived for €64m and who retains an Expected Transfer Value (xTV) of €34m – well about the Rossoneri’s latest bid.
It appears that the 24-year-old midfielder will be on his way out of Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have already allowed a string of first-team players to depart this summer, with Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek leaving for a combined €220m.