Arsenal reach decision on hijacking £55m Chelsea transfer after Morgan Rogers signs | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has revealed whether Arsenal will now hijack Chelsea’s next big-money move after Morgan Rogers put pen to paper at Stamford Bridge.

For much of the summer transfer window, Morgan Rogers appeared on course to join the Premier League champions. Arsenal made great strides in discussions with the player, but their reluctance to pay top dollar swung the door wide open for Chelsea.

Unlike Arsenal, the Blues weren’t shy in putting mammoth sums on the table, and when offering £117m without add-ons, Aston Villa quickly and predictably said yes.

On Monday night, Rogers not only passed his Chelsea medical, but signed his six-year contract that contains a club option for a seventh year.

With Rogers now banked and becoming the most expensive British player of all time, Xabi Alonso and BlueCo are going full steam ahead for Maxence Lacroix.

Alonso may well deploy a back three at various stages during his spell in west London, meaning the need for more top quality options at centre-back will be greater at Chelsea than other clubs.

France international Lacroix is the player Chelsea are moving for, though over the weekend, reports claimed Arsenal could gain a measure of revenge for the Rogers hijack by hijacking the Lacroix deal themselves.

Part of the reason why Arsenal are in the market for a new centre-back is due to William Saliba suffering a back injury at the World Cup.

The issue may require surgery to fix, and if that’s the option Arsenal choose, Saliba could reportedly miss four-five months while recuperating.

When taking to YouTube on Monday night, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed what he knows about Lacroix’s future, and whether the Arsenal rumours are for real.

He explained: “For Lacroix Chelsea remain in absolutely active and concrete talks with Crystal Palace,”

“All parties involved are talking, the ownership, agents of the player… I’m told that reports over the weekend of Arsenal getting involved at the moment are not true.

“If Arsenal will jump into it, I’ll let you know, but at the moment the player is fully focused on joining Chelsea.

“Lacroix is open and keen on joining Chelsea, and the deal is now in the hands of the two clubs about the transfer fee.”

Romano finished his update by declaring Chelsea are now pushing hard to seal a club-to-club agreement with Palace as soon as possible.

Regarding cost, numerous reports have stated Palace value their 26-year-old centre-back at £55m after using Jan Paul van Hecke’s £52m transfer from Brighton to Tottenham as a guide.