Chelsea ‘close’ to £75m ‘agreement’ for Fernandez replacement as Blues make £26m bid for left-back | OneFootball

Chelsea are closing in on a deal to sign Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace after Enzo Fernandez struck an agreement in principle with Real Madrid, according to reports.

The Blues are looking to refresh their midfield this summer with the inevitability that Argentina international Fernandez will leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

Speculation has been building for a year or two that Fernandez could eventually move on to Real Madrid and it looks likely that this could be the summer for him to move.

Fernandez was disciplined towards the end of the season by Chelsea for comments made about a potential move to Real Madrid during the final international break of the campaign.

And Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari claimed over the weekend that Fernandez and Real Madrid have a ‘verbal agreement’ over a five-year contract if the La Liga giants can agree a fee with Chelsea.

Longari wrote on X: ‘Real Madrid has a verbal agreement with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez for a 5-year contract. #CFC doesn’t want to let the Argentine go, but the midfielder will push for the transfer to happen. A first contact between clubs is expected soon. The valuation will be at least 120M.’

And now former football agent John Harriott, who is now a journalist, has revealed on X that Chelsea are now ‘close’ to agreeing a £75m fee for Crystal Palace midfielder Wharton.

Harriott wrote: ‘Exclusive: Chelsea close to agreement for Adam Wharton. Deal worth close to £75m. Player said to want to move to #CFC from #CPFC as he is keen to play for a ‘big’ club. Crystal Palace in separate talks to sign Axel Disasi this summer for £20m.’

Chelsea allowed starting left-back Marc Cucurella leave for Real Madrid earlier in the summer and now they are looking for a top replacement.

And Italian website Sport Mediaset claim that Chelsea have now made it clear that they are ready to send a package to Juventus worth €30m (£26m) for left-back Cambiaso.

The report wrote: ‘Chelsea have decided to make a decisive move on Andrea Cambiaso. The London club has recently had initial direct contact with Juventus, who value the player at €40 million. The English club is currently willing to raise the fee to €25 million, plus bonuses that could raise the figure to €30 million.

‘There’s still a gap, but discussions are ongoing, especially considering that Juventus needs to complete the deal by June 30th to meet budget constraints and comply with UEFA regulations.’