Chelsea are prepared to bid for a £208,000-a-week striker after sealing the deal for Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who will join in a £30 million move from the King Power Stadium.
Chelsea reach agreement with Leicester to sign Dewsbury-Hall
On Sunday, reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano gave his famous ‘here we go’ as Dewsbury-Hall completed his switch to Stamford Bridge, coming after Chelsea entered the race to hijack Brighton’s original deal for him.
The Seagulls were given the green light by Leicester to sign their star midfielder with Jakub Moder going the other way, but when Chelsea inquired about Dewsbury-Hall, the move was hijacked – despite Brighton having even booked a medical for the Englishman.
🚨🔵 EXCL: Brighton and Leicester City agreed on swap deal.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Brighton and Jakub Moder to Leicester. 🔁
Medical already booked for both! 🩺
Moder also gave green light as per @wlodar85.
❗️ But then Chelsea inquired about Dewsbury-Hall… no bid, yet. pic.twitter.com/fUTMquK5Yf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 27, 2024
Talks accelerated at a fast pace as Chelsea sought to back new head coach Enzo Maresca with the signing of a player he knows very well. Under the Italian last season, Dewsbury-Hall racked up 12 goals and 15 assists for Leicester in all competitions – standing out as one of their most crucial assets who helped them achieve immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
| Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s stats for Leicester City in all competitions – 23/24 | Total (via Transfermarkt) |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 49 |
| Goals | 12 |
| Assists | 15 |
| Yellow cards | 6 |
| Red cards | 0 |
| Minutes played | 3,860 |
After rounds of negotiations over the weekend, Chelsea eventually reached their agreement to sign Dewsbury-Hall for £30 million, with Maresca now set for a reunion.
🚨🔵 Kiernan Drewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, here we go! Player on his way to medical today ahead of contract signing.
Deal valid until June 2030 for KDH at Chelsea, reunited with Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea to pay fee around £30m to Leicester City after final round of talks today. pic.twitter.com/EhmW9OO7Wf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 30, 2024
It’s been a very busy transfer window for Todd Boehly and Chelsea in these early weeks, who also confirmed the arrivals of Omari Kellyman in a £19 million switch from Aston Villa and young striker Marc Guiu in a £5 million deal from Barcelona.
Now, attention turns to who else they could bring in for Maresca begins his debut campaign at the Chelsea helm. Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is a player they’ve been repeatedly linked with in the build-up to this summer, and that interest is yet to die down.
Chelsea chiefs apparently believe Osimhen is the perfect striker for them, with reports out of Spain sharing the latest on their pursuit of the Nigerian.
Chelsea prepared to bid for Victor Osimhen after Dewsbury-Hall
One Spanish source backs claims that Chelsea believe he is the ideal solution to bolster Maresca’s forward line.
They also state that Chelsea are willing to make a bid for Osimhen this summer, who could leave the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for less than his £102 million release clause if talks are opened.
Osimhen signed a new deal last season which increased his pay packet to around £208,000-a-week, which included that exit clause for interested sides as well. Thus far, no team in Europe has moved to activate it – perhaps putting some pressure on Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to consider a lower fee.
