Chelsea’s busy summer shows no signs of slowing down, with the Blues hoping to sign a striker alongside the arrival of Joao Felix.
The Portugal forward completed his move back to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid for a fee of up to £46.3m on Wednesday after spending the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan in west London, scoring four goals in 20 appearances.
The 24-year-old has signed a six-year deal with the option for a further year, with his arrival helping to allow Conor Gallagher to finally complete his move to Atletico.
Joao Felix spent the second half of the 2022/23 season at Chelsea
The LaLiga side agreed a £36m deal for the midfielder but the move stalled when Chelsea’s signing of Atletico forward Samu Omorodion fell through earlier this month.
Gallagher – who had less than 12 months remaining on his Chelsea contact after turning down a new two-year deal – committed to Atletico until 2029 and completed his move on Wednesday.
Felix will have plenty of competition at Stamford Bridge, joining a squad including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Pedro Neto, Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu.
Chelsea also still have Raheem Sterling, Romelu Lukaku, Armando Broja, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Angelo Gabriel, Deivid Washington and David Fofana, but several of those players could move on before the August 30 deadline.
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Gary Neville believes Chelsea could have a good season but feels their recruitment is ‘chaotic and bizarre’, while Jamie Carragher questions where Joao Felix will play
Sterling featured for Chelsea in pre-season but was left out of the squad for their Premier League opener on Sunday, which ended in defeat to his former club, Manchester City.
Before the match had even kicked off, Sterling’s representatives released a statement asking for “clarity” over the winger’s future – a move that Jamie Carragher called “ridiculous”.
Sterling is also absent from the squad preparing for Thursday’s Conference League play-off first leg at home to Swiss club Servette and is considering his options regarding his future.
The winger was told on Friday by Enzo Maresca that he would struggle to play regular football this season – news that Sterling was not expecting.
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The 29-year-old has three years remaining on his contract but will not stay at Chelsea if he is not wanted.
However, any move would have to suit all parties. Chelsea are open to offers and Juventus made contact over a potential deal last month.
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Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol discusses how Raheem Sterling’s future at Chelsea may unfold
Chelsea will still target a No 9 – despite the number of attacking options at Maresca’s disposal – and Victor Osimhen has been a target all summer.
However, Chelsea will not sign the Napoli striker on a permanent deal as things stand.
The Serie A club are interested in signing Lukaku and made a loan offer with an obligation to buy worth £25.5m earlier this week.
Broja is also set to join Ipswich, meaning Jackson and Guiu are the only No 9s currently in Maresca’s first-team plans.
Jackson scored 14 Premier League goals in his debut season but is not a clinical finisher, underperforming his expected goals total by 4.64, while Guiu has made eight senior appearances in his career.
‘Smart money is on Lukaku-Osimhen deals happening’
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Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol discusses whether Chelsea will look to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
Napoli need Lukaku, Chelsea need Osimhen – the smart money is on those deals happening.
Osimhen would change the mood at Chelsea. He’s the player Chelsea fans want. He has got the personality, experience and presence they need. Someone in the mould of Didier Drogba or Diego Costa. A superstar. But the problem is his wages.
Napoli can’t afford him. They gave him a new contract but he’s on massive wages. He wasn’t involved on Sunday in their bad defeat to Verona and is training away from the first team. Paris Saint-Germain are also in the mix but Chelsea know Napoli want Lukaku.
Chelsea don’t want to pay over odds, though – and they won’t be paying him £300,000 per week.
They have received an official bid from Napoli for Lukaku. It is understood the proposal is an initial loan with an obligation to buy. The total package is worth £25.5m (€30m) – including the loan fee.
Chelsea have made it clear they want a permanent deal and the offer falls short in two respects: the overall valuation and the fact that it is a loan plus an obligation are not satisfactory to Chelsea.
This is a deal which looks like it will happen – but closer to Deadline Day.
And that is when we can really judge the shape of this Chelsea squad: when the transfer window is closed, when the players who they want out are gone and the ones they want in have or haven’t arrived.