Chelsea have held "new" talks with a Premier League club over signing a £70 million player of theirs, as Todd Boehly looks to back Enzo Maresca ahead of his first full season in charge.
Chelsea targeting new forward and centre-back before deadline
The west Londoners have already sealed eight new signings this summer, with Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Omari Kellyman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Estevao Willian and Renato Veiga all officially putting pen to paper on moves to Stamford Bridge.
Fabrizio Romano – Chelsea open talks for "rapid" forward likened to Neymar
The Blues are after another player.
ByEmilio Galantini
Chelsea have also agreed deals for Aaron Anselmino and Caleb Wiley, who will cost around £25.5 million in total (The Athletic), but the agreements are yet to be announced.
This takes their spending up to near-£120 million, including the additions of Wiley and Anselmino, who will be loaned back out to Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg and Boca Juniors respectively.
Cole Palmer
7.48
Conor Gallagher
7.13
Nicolas Jackson
7.07
Moises Caicedo
6.85
Noni Madueke
6.84
While eight new arrivals have come through the door, except Estevao who'll join in 2025, only a couple of these names are set to bolster Maresca's first team options.
Chelsea are believed to still be in the market for a new winger who can compete with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk, while there are claims that Boehly could bring in another centre-back after Tosin.
Thiago Silva will be a sore miss after leaving Chelsea on a free, with the Brazilian re-joining boyhood club Fluminense once his contract expired. Tosin will help to fill the void left by his departure, but the likes of Fabrizio Romano have claimed that the west Londoners may well bring in another central defender.
One of the star centre-backs linked in the last few weeks is Nottingham Forest's Murillo, with the 22-year-old enjoying a fine debut season at the City Ground last term as Nuno Espirito Santo's side narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
Chelsea hold "new" talks with Nottingham Forest over Murillo
The Brazilian is rumoured to command a price tag of up to £70 million, which would be a hefty investment on Chelsea's part after lavish spending already.
It remains to be seen whether they're willing to fork out that sum, but journalist Gianluigi Longari writes on X that Chelsea have held "new" talks with Nottingham Forest over signing Murillo – potentially to understand the conditions of a deal.
“He defended very well, positionally he was really good, he was composed and you want your centre backs to be able to do both parts of the game sometimes," said ex-Forest boss Steve Cooper in high praise of the South American last campaign.
“We know that we’re going to have to defend at times more than we attack, that’s fine, there is no shame in that, and we need centre backs to do what our pair did tonight.
“If Murillo is doing that at 21, when he’s learning the language and he’s not long in the country, then the signs are good. He’s a really good boy, we’re really enjoying working with him. We held him back a little bit when he first came over, we knew we were signing a talent anyway but then to see him in training, it was just a matter of time of trying to pick the right moment to put him in."
