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Chelsea are reportedly considering a swap deal involving Trevoh Chalobah or Armando Broja for Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise. The 22-year-old Olise has been with Palace since the summer of 2021.
Olise is coming off a decent 2023-24 season, bagging 10 goals and six assists in 19 games across competitions - all in the Premier League - where Palace finished 10th, with 49 points.
He's contracted to Selhurst Park till 2027 but has caught the attention of the Blues. As per Pys (via Sami Mokbel), the Premier League giants are contemplating offering Chalobah or Broja as part of a cash+swap deal to lure the talented 21-year-old to Stamford Bridge.
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Both Chalobah and Broja are homegrown talents but only featured intermittently in the previous campaign.
Chalobah, 24, scored once in 17 games across competitions, and the centre-back also helped keep three clean sheets. Meanwhile, Broja, 22, scored twice and provided an assist in 22 games across competitions. Both players are contracted to Stamford Bridge till 2028 but could be on the move this summer.
The METRO has reported that the Blues are 'confident' of avoiding paying the Palace player's reported release clause of £60 million, which apparently applies only for UEFA Champions League clubs. However, their pursuit could be complicated, as Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Manchester City are also in the fray.
Why Chelsea qualified for UEFA Europa Conference League despite finishing sixth?
Chelsea produced a rousing end to the previous season - winning five straight games to finish a creditable sixth in the Premier League. That was good enough for sixth place and a berth in the UEFA Europa League next season.
However, with Manchester United upsetting holders Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final at the Wembley, the Red Devils usurped the Blues to the Europa League place. It meant that the Blues dropped down to the UEFA Europa Conference League instead.
Nevertheless, they will welcome a return to Europe after a season's absence, having finished a lowly 12th in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. They were slated for another season without continental football before a late-season resurgence saw them surge up the standings.
