Chelsea new signing Kalidou Koulibaly on moving to the Premier League
On the eve of the new Premier League season, several clubs are still hoping to get another deal or two over the line in time for their opening weekend squad, though several sagas look set to drag on into the final weeks of the transfer window. One of those is Frenkie de Jong, with the Barcelona midfielder seemingly preferring a move to Chelsea over Manchester United, but not keen to give up the salary owed to him by his current club. The Catalan and west London club could be doing further business too, with Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso linked with a switch to the Camp Nou, while Xavi Hernandez hopes to have Man City star Bernardo Silva as the replacement for De Jong if all goes to plan.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are trying to land at least two more players for their defensive ranks too – but Brighton released a stern statement rejecting reports that Marc Cucurella was all but sold to the Blues, despite claims that personal terms were agreed for the left-sided player. Wesley Fofana remains an option if Leicester are open to sell, while new reports claim Thomas Tuchel wants Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United are still hoping to sign James Maddison, Manchester United are keen on Serginio Dest, fellow Barca backup Neto could be heading to Bournemouth and Nicolo Zaniolo is still high on Tottenham’s list of priorities, if they can offload fringe players.
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Marc Cucurella: Chelsea closing in on £52.5m transfer for Brighton defender
Chelsea are close to completing a £52.5million deal for Brighton wing-back Marc Cucurella.
The Blues are thought to have signalled their intent to pay the big-money fee Brighton had held out for, inching the west Londoners close to completing the 24-year-old’s signing.
Brighton are understood to be pushing hard towards a separate deal for Chelsea’s highly-rated centre-back Levi Colwill.
Talks between the two clubs are understood to be ongoing over whether the deal for the 19-year-old would be a loan a permanent transfer.
The Cucurella and Colwill deals are completely separate, but it is thought both may have to be signed off for either move to be completed.
Chelsea closing in on £52.5m Marc Cucurella signing from Brighton
The Blues have beaten Manchester City to the Brighton defender and are set to complete a £52.5million deal
Karl Matchett4 August 2022 09:47