Pochettino scrambling to sell unwanted Chelsea man; Fulham interest confirmed but clubs differ on terms

Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah is a key target for Fulham and TEAMtalk can exclusively confirm the Blues are desperate to sell him this month. 

Mauricio Pochettino is keen to add reinforcements to his squad before the transfer window slams shut and selling players would give him more funds to play with.

A new striker is the manager’s priority. His top target is Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen, but Chelsea will have to wait until the summer to sign him.

Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface and Brentford’s Ivan Toney are three other names on their striker shortlist.

However, as with Osimhen, they may struggle to finance a deal for any of the trio before the end of the month.

Chalobah is a Chelsea academy graduate, which means that selling him would represent pure profit on the books for the London club.

Moving him on could allow Pochettino to make more additions than are currently viable, but Chelsea don’t have much time left to find a buyer.

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Fulham want Chalobah on loan, Chelsea keen to sell

As previously revealed by TEAMtalk, Fulham have approach Chelsea over a move for Chalobah as Marco Silva wants to bring in a replacement for exit-linked centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo. 

Our sources have informed us, however, that the Cottagers would prefer to sign the Blues defender on loan with an option to buy included, rather than on a permanent deal.

This would give them more security if they are able to convince Tosin – who has six months remaining on his Fulham contract – to stay at the club.

Chalobah is yet to make a single competitive appearance for Chelsea this season after being frozen out of the squad by Pochettino.

He has previously shown quality for the Blues, particularly under former manager Thomas Tuchel, so could prove to be a valuable addition to the Fulham squad if they can get a deal done this month.

As mentioned, though, Chelsea would much prefer to sell Chalobah rather than loan him out, and there are other clubs interested in his signature.

Nottingham Forest had a £25m bid accepted for Chalobah in the summer, but the move did not reach completion and he remained at Stamford Bridge.

They are unlikely to make another offer due to their ongoing issues with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, though

Italian giants Napoli and Roma are also admirers of Chalobah, so they could make a bid for the defender in the coming days.

Other suitors include Crystal Palace and Inter Milan – but they are yet to firm up their interest with a concrete approach.

It will be interesting to see where Chalobah ends up before the window closes as it looks unlikely he will be staying at Stamford Bridge.

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