Romano announces Chelsea’s next THREE transfers

Robin Bairner

• 21 Jun 2023 09:38 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has indicated that things are about to step up in the transfer market at Chelsea, with the Stamford Bridge side closing in on three deals that could unlock the window for new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea’s big spending 2022/23 season means that they are having to sell before buying players. This is partly in relation to Financial Fair Play regulations but also in a bid to cut down the size of their squad, which was problematic for former manager Graham Potter.

The Saudi Pro League is proving a useful outlet for this because of Todd Boehly’s relationship with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which holds 75% stakes in the country’s leading four clubs.

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Romano has announced that Chelsea are close to sending three players to the Pro League after N’Golo Kante joined Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad as a free agent.

The Italian transfer specialist has confirmed that Al-Nassr have “reached a full verbal agreement” on a deal to sign Hakim Ziyech from the Blues. He will hook up with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the club.

The former Ajax winger is set to sign a contract until 2026, though it is unclear what kind of fee Chelsea will receive in return for a player who still has two years left to run on his deal at Stamford Bridge.

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Mendy to sign for Al-Ahli, Koulibaly heading for Al-Hilal

In addition, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is heading for Al-Ahli.

Romano reports that the Saudi Pro League side have an agreement with Chelsea in order to complete the deal, and the 31-year-old former Rennes goalkeeper, who won The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper in 2021 will sign a three-year contract with the club.

Meanwhile, a similar situation is reported in the case of Kalidou Koulibaly, who will join Ruben Neves at Al-Hilal, the club that was also closest to signing Lionel Messi.

In both cases, it appears that only to formalities need to be completed for the transfers to take place.

Once Chelsea have offloaded these players, this will give them the scope to complete other key strategic deals, with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo expected to sign for the club imminently.