Chelsea reach 'total agreement' over next signing as asking price dropped

Chelsea are back in action today when they face AC Milan in their second and last pre-season friendly. The Blues took care of business against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday, but they were dealt a huge blow with Levi Colwill suffering a long-term injury.

That injury likely pushes the Blues back into the market for another defender, while they also need another winger and attacking midfielder, while a striker will also be needed if Nicolas Jackson leaves. Here we round up the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.

Simons agreement

Chelsea are said to have reached a ‘total agreement’ with RB Leipzig over the signing of Xavi Simons. The Blues had to sanction exits before snapping up Simons, and after waving goodbye to Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu, they should be much further down the line in their bid to bring in Simons.

Orazio Accomando has reported that Chelsea have agreed a £60million deal with Leipzig to wrap up the signing, and the agreement with the player is over a contract that will last until 2032. Simons looks very likely to be the next player in at Stamford Bridge.

Gilchrist asking price lowered

Alfie Gilchrist is another player Chelsea are said to be hoping to sell this summer as they offload a host of players, and they are now said to have lowered their asking price

“Understand Chelsea are now willing to lower their £5m asking price for Alfie Gilchrist. A fee of £1.5m plus add-ons is viewed as acceptable with a sell-on clause likely in any deal. Gilchrist expected to leave before the end of the window. Championship and Saudi interest.”

Gittens on settling at Chelsea

Chelsea summer signing Jamie Bynoe-Gittens has been speaking to the club’s media about fitting in at Stamford Bridge in his early days. He said: “It was nice to be around the team at the Club World Cup, to talk to them, to get to know the players and staff members. I think it was important to do that so I could get involved with everyone early. It helped with the settling-in period when I arrived at training.”

On the break after the Club World Cup, the winger added: I went to the Algarve, Portugal, for training since I came back from the Club World Cup. I think I did ten or 11 days out there with a personal trainer, just to get the extra work in so I can stay fit, stay sharp and be ready to play for Chelsea. I did lots of gym stuff and on-the-pitch stuff, so it was really good.”

Finally, after returning to training on Monday, Gittens continued: “It has been really good, it has been fun with all the guys, and training has been really competitive. I have enjoyed it.

“The people at Chelsea have been really good and I have lots of positive things to say about the club. The facilities are amazing, the training pitches, the gym, the spa, it's all really modern. It has been really easy to adapt to the club.”

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