Chelsea transfer news LIVE: Ugarte prefers Blues move over PSG, Osmihen latest, Sterling hails Pochettino arrival as Felix future decided
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news, gossip and rumours from Chelsea in talkSPORT's live blog.
New Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino will have to hit the ground running once the summer window officially opens after inheriting a mess at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea finished a pitiful 12th in the Premier League - their lowest since the 1993/94 season - following a series of errors on and off the pitch.
Pochettino will be keen to bring his own players in to put his stamp on an already oversized squad but equally that may mean several high-profile stars could be on their way out.
Top stories
- Mauricio Pochettino finally confirmed as new Chelsea manager
- Chelsea are set to sell FIVE homegrown stars this summer
- Mason Mount cut an emotional figure at the end of Chelsea's final game of the season
Follow our live blog below for all the latest news from Chelsea…
Joao Felix will not be signing for Chelsea on a permanent deal this summer, Atletico Madrid have confirmed.
“Yesterday we had the news that the new Chelsea manager does not [want] Felix,” Atletico president Enrique Cerezo told Spanish outlet AS.
“We’ve known for less than 24 hours. He’ll come back here and we’ll see. We don’t have anything planned.”
AC Milan are said to be close to agreeing terms with Ruben Loftus-Cheek over a long term contract.
Loftus-Cheek is willing to take a pay cut to push through a summer move to AC Milan, talkSPORT revealed earlier this month.
The Italian giants are in advanced talks with Chelsea over a move for the England international, with former teammate Fikayo Tomori understood to be encouraging him to join him at the San Siro.
As a result, Loftus-Cheek is willing to take a pay cut, the player is believed to be on more than £150,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge, in order to force through a move away.
Mason Mount’s contract negotiations with Chelsea reportedly broke down after the World Cup.
Football.London claim that before Mount headed to Qatar to link up with England there was an understanding to see eye-to-eye on an agreement with Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali over fresh terms.
However, upon his return to Chelsea he found a new-look transfer team, with Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields and Christopher Vivell in place and the offer was no longer on the table.
Mason Mount has penned an emotional letter to Chelsea fans as speculation around his future continues to grow.
He wrote on Instagram: “It’s fair to say it’s been an up and down season, but your support has never dipped. Travelling all around the country, you were with us every step of the way and at times we didn’t deserve you.
“But now it’s time to have a break and recover. Thank you and enjoy your summer Blues.”
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has spoken to Blues target Declan Rice over possibly joining him at Bayern Munich next season.
Sky Germany reporter Uli Kohler said: “Thomas Tuchel had a phone call with him. I don’t know what they were talking about – maybe money, maybe about what he can expect here [in Munich].
“Bayern is keen on him. They need a strong defensive midfielder but everybody knows there are a lot of other clubs interested in him.”
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has hinted at signing a contract extension after being crowned the fan’s player of the season.
He told the club’s website: “The whole family have fallen in love with Chelsea. My sons, Isago and Iago, both play for Chelsea.
“Isago has extended his contract here for the next two seasons, which means we are going to be here for two years. We just hope it’s more!”
With quality already at his disposal and fresh additions likely, talkSPORT looks at how Chelsea could line-up under Mauricio Pochettino.
One target that has been recently linked with a switch to west London is Inter Milan’s Andre Onana.
Sporting Lisbon’s Manuel Ugarte has been linked with reports suggesting Chelsea are ‘pushing’ to sign him to bolster their midfield.
Now a Serie A title winner, Victor Osimhen could be a crucial piece in the puzzle, with a new striker a third key signing for Chelsea.
The Nigerian could prove costly though, with Napoli reportedly setting a £125million asking price ahead of the summer.
Zenit St Petersburg star Robert Renan is not attracting interest from Chelsea despite reports to the contrary.
90min claimed that the 19-year-old’s displays – which led to a call-up to the senior Brazil squad in March – have seen him admired by Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.
But the defender’s agent Luis Fernando Garcia told RIA Novosti: “Interest in Robert Renan from English clubs is not true.”
Chelsea fans have voted Thiago Silva as their men’s Player of the Season.
“It was a very emotional moment for me, especially because in spite of the bad season we have had, fans still wanted to show me their support,” The Brazilian told the club’s website.
“It’s been a hard year, so the recognition fills me with happiness, pride and pleasure for being part of this team.
“From my first day here, I have been warmly welcomed by Chelsea fans and so my commitment is even greater than before because I know we need to respond to them with better performances on the pitch and give them the response they deserve.
“At one point we were all fans and we know what it feels like to love the players in a team, and how the supporters suffer,’ he continues.
“So we recognise that it’s not easy for them to show that love in moments like this. I want to say that it’s important to recognise that if we were in this particular situation in another country, we would likely not receive the love we have received here at Chelsea. We’d probably be received with bad language or abuse, but we didn’t get that here, and it shows the love that the fans have for us.”
Joao Felix will not return to Chelsea next season!
Felix joined in January from Atletico Madrid on a loan deal reportedly worth as much as £11million in fees and wages and managed just three goals and one red card.
“We have been informed that [Mauricio Pochettino] does not count with Felix for Chelsea. He will return here, we’ll see… we’ve nothing planned”, Atletico president Cerezo has announced, as cited by Fabrizio Romano.
Mykhailo Mudryk ‘might not be happy’ about joining Chelsea over Arsenal according to Emmanuel Petit.He told Betway: “I liked the way Mudryk played against Liverpool on his debut, I think he put something different into the Chelsea game when he came up against them. He showed that he was very quick on the ball.” He showed that he wasn’t scared, he took responsibility straight away. However, the move has shown he is still a big gamble for the future. At first he wanted to go to Arsenal, but ended up at Chelsea, so my question is ‘’Is he happy about that?’’ I’m not sure. “But definitely he would add quality to their squad. I hope that he will be successful over at Chelsea.”
Cesare Casadei is ready to fight for his Chelsea place following a loan stint at Reading.
Asked if he regretted leaving Inter Milan for the Blues in 2022, he told Corriere dello Sport: “No, no. I would do everything I did again. I’m really happy in England. Playing as a starter in the Championship has allowed me to experience the football of the greats.
“Now I’m going back to Chelsea to play my chances.”
Chelsea have reportedly tabled a swap deal to sign Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon.
Portuguese outlet Record have claimed that Chelsea are offering £62m plus £4m in add-ons for Ugarte, who has agreed personal terms with the Blues while PSG are also an option.
The report adds that Chelsea have singalled their intention to allow David Datro Fofana to head to Sporting on loan in return.
Fofana, who joined the club in January from Malmo for £11m, has made just three Premier League appearances.
Juventus are reportedly leading the race to sign sign Christian Pulisic.
ESPN claim that Chelsea are prepared to offload the United States international for a £20 million fee this summer as he enters the final 12 months of the contract he penned following a £58m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2019.
Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle, as well as European sides Napoli, AC Milan and Galatasaray have all been made aware of Pulisic’s likely fee and salary.
But Juventus are said to have emerged as the front-runners with their wingers Angel di Maria and Juan Cuadrado now both out of contract.
Pierre -Emerick Aubameyang is set to be one of the first players to leave Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino.
Aubameyang has been given the green light to find a new club following a horrendous stint at Stamford Bridge, report the Evening Standard.
And the report adds that the former Arsenal captain has interest from several teams in Saudi Arabia.
Chelsea have accepted that they will need to take a hit on the 33-year-old having spent 12million to bring him from Barcelona less than a year ago.
Aubameyang is also interested in a return to the Nou Camp, while Atletico Madrid and another of his ex clubs, AC Milan, are keeping tabs on him.
Crystal Palace are said to have approached former Chelsea boss Graham Potter over their vacant managerial position.
Roy Hodgson is open to staying at Palace for one more year, talkSPORT revealed earlier this month, following a successful second stint with the Eagles.
Hodgson, who is the oldest boss in the Premier League, is believed to be not keen on retiring having guided the south London outfit away from relegation and into a comfortable 11th-placed finish ahead of Chelsea.
And now French outlet FootMercato claim Palace are looking at Chelsea to appoint their former manager Potter having settled instead on a manager for the future but they face competition from Nice.
Oscar has told talkSPORT that he would be open to a return to Chelsea in the future if the Blues ever showed interest in bringing him back to London.
“I am very happy here [in Shanghai]. It’s a pleasure to play for this team,” he says.
“They have given me a lot of things. They have helped not only me, but my family as well. They have given me a lot of support since I arrived here in 2017. I really enjoy playing here.
“I’m just focusing on playing more games because last year, I played just three or four games in the season because of COVID and the situation here and I stayed for some months in Brazil. This is why there was a lot of talk about me going to Flamengo.
“Of course, it’s a dream to come back to Chelsea because everyone knows the passion that I have for this club. It’s the same passion I have for Shanghai. It’s the two clubs I have played at for a long period.
“I have a lot of good memories at Chelsea and I also have a lot of good memories of Shanghai. But I’m still here and I still have dreams to play for this team.
“So, if there was something where I could come back to Europe or Chelsea, we would need to talk. For now, I’m here and I’m trying to win the title here again.”
Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour says he still wanted to be at Chelsea last summer before swapping the Blues for the Seagulls in September.
The Scot fell out of favour with then-manager Thomas Tuchel but now looks to make the Amex midfield his own with both Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo set to leave this summer.
“After my [Norwich] loan, I still wanted to be at Chelsea, to be a part of their first-team plans but quite quickly in pre-season I knew that wasn’t going to be the case,” he said in, according to Sussex Live.
“But I didn’t want to go out on loan again, I wanted to find a home, to play for a team and be settled.
“I had other clubs interested but once I knew of Brighton’s interest, it was a pretty straightforward decision for me to make. I haven’t looked back since. Now I just want to play more games and keep progressing.”
Chelsea target Declan Rice has spoken out about his future as West Ham gear up for a Europa Conference League final.
Arsenal are thought to be leading the race to sign Rice this summer but the Blues will be hoping that they have an advantage in the race given that the England international advanced through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge before heading to east London.
And now having been quizzed if winning in Prague next week against Fiorentina would be the perfect way to end his West Ham career, Rice replied: “I’ve not really focused on any of that, to be honest.
“My main focus this season, from the World Cup onwards, has been getting us out of a relegation battle and, of course, having one eye on winning this trophy.
“Everything else is just noise and speculation. Obviously, I can’t help that, it comes with playing.
“But my main focus is playing for West Ham and winning this final. My heart’s set on that, doing it for the club, for my family, for the fans and that’s my only focus.
“I want to make them all very happy and my focus is on doing that.”
Raheem Sterling has hailed the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.
According to Arab News, Sterling said: “From his time before at Tottenham, I heard a conversation about him and he’s the exact person that we need.
“He will bring leadership, he will challenge players physically and mentally.
“I feel he is going to come here and he is going to have the personality that everyone is going to respect. That’s what we need, someone in charge.”
“We have a good squad, the quality is there,’ Sterling added. “We will add some players and some will leave, I get it, but there’s no doubt in my mind we will be challenging again very soon.
“My first two years at City, it was not all beauty. We had to build step by step and that’s exactly what we have to do here at Chelsea.”
Hello and welcome to talkSPORT’s live blog for all the latest Chelsea news this summer.
Chelsea have now confirmed Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager.
talkSPORT revealed in April that the 51-year-old had agreed to become the Blues’ next boss.
However, Frank Lampard continued as interim boss until the end of a dismal season before Pochettino will assume control officially on July 1.
“I’m a big fan of Pochettino as a manager, I think he’s a very good manager, but it’s not about which individual it might be, it’s about getting the right high level of manager,” Lampard said last week.
“Pochettino’s history tells you he works at clubs of this sort of level and then letting him get to work with the players he creates a solid identity in a team that can win more games. Those things aren’t always overnight things, so we have to be careful with expectations a little bit.”
Pochettino has been handed a two-year deal, with the option of a third year.
talkSPORT also understands that the former Spurs gaffer has identified a new striker and goalkeeper to be his top priorities.
To fund that splurge Chelsea are set to sell FIVE homegrown stars this summer.
Mason Mount looks to have already played his last game for the club with Manchester United thought to be favourites to sign him whilst Liverpool and Arsenal are both interested as well.
talkSPORT understands Mount could be followed out of the Stamford Bridge exit door by England pair Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as well as Trevor Chalobah and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
