Fabrizio Romano issues 'close' update on Chelsea transfer and shuts down exit rumour

Chelsea are said to be progressing in their bid to reach an agreement over their next signing. The Blues have already had a busy summer, snapping up three forwards and commissioning the sale of Noni Madueke to Arsenal.

More signings are going to be needed, with another winger, attack-minded midfielder and centre-back needed as a minimum. Enzo Maresca knows he still needs to improve his squad as he looks to build a team ready to compete for the title, and it’s no secret that Liverpool and Arsenal are spending big this summer, while Manchester City are expected to step things up again this coming campaign.

Chelsea are currently said to be working on two particular deals, with Ajax defender Jorrel Hato and RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Xavi Simons the current points of concentration for the Blues. When it comes to the former, Chelsea have struggled to reach a full agreement with Ajax due to the two clubs being around £8million apart in their valuations.

But given the relatively small gap in the valuations of the two clubs, it seems like a deal will ultimately be done, and Fabrizio Romano has reported that the two clubs are indeed close to agreeing terms. He posted: “Chelsea and Ajax have progressed in talks for Jorrel Hato on Monday, deal at the final stages. Hato, ready to sign a long term deal at Chelsea with the two clubs close to full agreement.”

Elsewhere. Chelsea are said to be confident of keeping hold of Marc Cucurella, who was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in recent days. Romano added: “Al Nassr didn’t send any bid for Marc Cucurella and the player’s full focus remains on Chelsea. He’s key part of #CFC project.”

What Maresca has said about Chelsea defence plans

Chelsea boss Maresca spoke about his defensive plans during the FIFA Club World Cup. He said when asked about whether Josh Acheampong will stay: “The clubs that you mentioned, they like Josh - but we also like Josh," Maresca said. "Any club likes good players. My plan with Josh is quite clear. I said many times that I really like Josh. He potentially can be a top defender for this club. It's on him to have the right timing to do the things. We are full of young players here, full of talented players - even defenders. The best plan for Josh is to be with us and I'm very happy if he's going to be with us."

He added: "All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them. But then we said many times that when the window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen - to buy a player or to sell a player. Trevoh (Chalobah) came back to us in January. We made the Champions League spot in the top four and that's also because of Trevoh. He helped us a lot. In this moment, he played also some games here He is with us. We are happy with him. When the window is open, anything can happen - but not only for Trevoh, also for the 25 players of the squad."

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