Fabrizio Romano teases gigantic Chelsea striker signing with eight-man clearout to fund move

Chelsea are ready to raise funds for an exciting new striker signing by selling up to eight players this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano, who has named two casualties who cost the club more than £110m between them.

The transfer window may still be a few months away, but Chelsea have been busy getting some deals lined up for the future. Already, they have arranged to sign Geovany Quenda from Sporting in 2026 and to buy Dario Essugo from the same club in the summer.

But the centre-forward role remains the one Chelsea are most eager to strengthen and that’s exactly where their attention is about to turn – but only after a significant clearout.

According to Romano, Chelsea are preparing to shift seven or eight players before launching a move for a new striker.

“Something important to explain is that Chelsea will now work hard on sales in order to obviously have everything in place for the Financial Fair Play rules and also for sustainability, something really important for Chelsea,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

“So, remember how many players they have on loan, Kepa [Arrizabalaga] and many others so Chelsea will try to sell, according to my information, seven to eight players as soon as possible to make some money, to get new funds and then reinvest in a striker.

“The striker position will be crucial, striker and winger will be two really important positions for Chelsea.

“But especially the striker, there is the focus and Chelsea will invest in a new striker in the summer. They signed Quenda for the future, they signed Essugo for the present but the striker will be crucial and selling players will be the next step.”

In a separate post on his X account, Romano also namechecked Axel Disasi, the defender currently on loan at Aston Villa, as a player Chelsea are likely to cash in on.

The Blues spent £71.6m to sign Kepa from Athletic Club in 2018, but the Spanish goalkeeper is on loan at Bournemouth now, while Disasi was a £38.8m buy from Monaco in 2023.

Chelsea striker targets

Currently, Chelsea’s main options up front are Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku. It’s an area they would be willing to upgrade if the right player becomes available.

Sources have told TEAMtalk that yet another Sporting star, Viktor Gyokeres, is on Chelsea’s shortlist, but they aren’t convinced about his price tag at the moment.

Similarly, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman is on their list, but may be outside the age bracket they would prefer to invest in.

Other strikers to have been linked with Chelsea include RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap and Wolves’ Matheus Cunha.

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray, is someone continually linked with Chelsea too.

Most of those players could command premium values. For example, Cunha has a £62.5m release clause and Osimhen’s similarly stands in the region of £63m.

Latest Chelsea transfer news

In other news, Real Madrid have been showing an interest in Chelsea midfielder, Enzo Fernandez.

While that wouldn’t be something Chelsea would gladly sign off on, the player himself would be interested in making the move.

And it’s also emerged that Chelsea could seek a swap deal involving Aurelien Tchouameni if negotiations with Madrid do go any further.

Meanwhile, Romeo Lavia’s feelings on his Chelsea future and how it could change have been revealed by sources.

And it’s been explained why Chelsea’s permanent signing of Jadon Sancho this summer could fall through.

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