Chelsea transfer round-up: Enzo Maresca makes attacker decision as £22m deal on track

Chelsea are now preparing for their FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final with Palmeiras, although there is work aplenty going on back home at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have been busy on new recruits, and we saw Joao Pedro snapped up from Brighton this week, with Enzo Maresca likely completing his front line.

Maresca is likely to want more arrivals, though, needing a winger and a centre-back, while he and the club’s recruitment staff could also add depth elsewhere. Here we round up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.

Madueke decision

Chelsea have reportedly decided to axe Noni Madueke ahead of the new season. According to Football Insider, the Blues have decided to move on from the winger despite him having been a vital player last season. Chelsea are expected to sign Jamie Bynoe-Gittens this summer, and if Madueke is sold, it will be interesting to see whether another winger is signed.

Although, the Blues do now have three strikers between Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson and Joao Pedro, and you could argue that all three are able to play out wide, so Maresca may be considering using one of those players as the third option behind Pedro Neto and Bynoe-Gittens, providing the latter does arrive.

Petrovic deal

Chelsea are said to be closing in on a sale that will boost their transfer kitty, with unwanted goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic reportedly on his way to a Premier League rival. According to Sacho Tavolieri, Petrovic is set to join Sunderland, who are searching for a new keeper after securing promotion to the Premier League.

Petrovic will reportedly make the move for £22million, and Chelsea are said to have had an agreement with the goalkeeper to allow him to leave if the right offer came in, with the stopper a long way down the pecking orders. Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen and Mike Penders are said to be the three main options heading into the new season.

Pedro snapped up

Chelsea wrapped up the signing of Joao Pedro from Brighton on Wednesday, and the forward gave an interview to the club website after putting pen-to-paper and arriving in Miami to link up with his new teammates.

He said: “Everyone knows this is a big club with a great history. They had brilliant players in the past and have brilliant players now. So I am excited to join and you know when you are a Chelsea player you must think one thing — win. I grew up watching the Premier League, and Chelsea were a club that won trophies. So, when you join Chelsea, you can only think one thing: to win trophies. Every competition, you have to think. I play for Chelsea and that is my ambition”

Asked about his decision to join the Blues, the forward said: “I'm close a little bit to David Luiz. I spoke to him, not about Chelsea, but about my career and how I could develop better. He helped me.”

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