Fabrizio Romano says Chelsea have held 'fresh talks' with midfielder as exit confirmed

Chelsea pulled off a hard-fought win over West London rivals Fulham on Saturday, winning 2-0 thanks to a Joao Pedro header and an Enzo Fernandez penalty.

Now attention turns back to the transfer window, with the window set to close on Monday night. Here we round up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.

Lopez talks

Chelsea are said to have held ‘fresh talks’ with FC Barcelona over the possible signing of midfielder Fermin Lopez. The 22-year-old is said to be considering a move away from Camp Nou due to only starting 14 league games last season.

Chelsea are said to be pushing for a deal as they look to continue their trend of signing young players with big upside. Fabrizio Romano has claimed that more talks have taken place between Chelsea and Lopez’s representatives, although it’s tough to see where the Spaniard will fit in if he wants regular starts. The deal is not likely to come cheap, either.

Nkunku deal confirmed

In another important step in Chelsea’s transfer spending journey, Christopher Nkunku has now joined AC Milan on a permanent deal worth around £36.3million.

Milan confirmed in a statement: “AC Milan is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea FC. The French forward has signed a contract with the Club until 30 June 2030.

“Born in Lagny-sur-Marne (France) on 14 November 1997, Nkunku developed in the Paris Saint-Germain academy and made his first-team debut for the Club in 2025. He went on to score 11 goals in 78 appearances for the Parisian giants, winning two Coupe de France titles, three French Supercups and two Coupe de la Ligue titles. In the summer of 2019, he made the switch to RB Leipzig, for whom he played 172 games and scored 70 goals, winning two DFB-Pokal titles as well as the Bundesliga golden boot in 2022/23. It was in 2023 that he moved to England to join Chelsea. He ended his time in West London with 18 goals in 62 games, as well as triumphs in the Conference League and Club World Cup this summer.

“He made his full international debut for France in March 2022 after having risen through Les Bleus' youth set-up. To date, he has 14 caps and one goal for his country. Nkunku will wear the number 18 shirt.”

Maresca on Fulham win

Speaking after the win over Fulham, Maresca confirmed that Liam Delap is set for up to eight weeks on the sidelines after picking up an injury just as Nicolas Jackson agreed to leave for a loan stint with Bayern Munich.

He said: “Hamstring, it was full speed,” the Italian said. “Hopefully it’s not long, but this kind of case, this kind of injury, it always can be six, eight weeks.”

On the win itself, the Italian added: “We were not good enough first half and we were brilliant second half. For us this is the analysis from the game. First half we didn’t keep the ball, we didn’t win duels. Against these kind of teams you need. Second half we did the right things.”

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