Also interested in Dumfries
After Chelsea lost out on Jules Koundé and Raphinha, the Blues continue to look for reinforcements. As reported by The Athletic, Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries and Leicester’s Wesley Fofana are currently highly rated by the Londoners.
Update 1:30 pm BST: According to The Athletic and Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea also want to outbid Manchester City’s move for Brighton defender Marc Cucurella. The Citizens have been unwilling to meet the Seagulls’ high demands for the Spaniard so far, even though he is said to be Pep Guardiola’s preferred option at left-back. Man City are not willing to bid more than about €47.5 million (£40 million) for Cucurella, but Brighton want about €60 million (£50 million). Chelsea could reportedly include England U-21 international Levi Colwill in the deal, in addition to offering a higher transfer fee than the defending titleholders.
According to the report, the Blues want to take advantage of the fact that Inter need to generate income from transfers this summer in case of full-back Dumfries, especially after talks with Paris Saint-Germain about Milan Skriniar stalled because of the Italians’ asking price. Chelsea also recently negotiated the loan of Romelu Lukaku – one of the biggest done deals of the summer – with the Serie A outfit, and both clubs are well connected.
Dybala, Haaland & Co. – The biggest done deals of the summer
Paulo Dybala | Juventus -> AS Roma | Market value: €35m
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Free transfer
This gallery takes into account both transfer fee and market value. The higher number is decisive for the ranking.
Last updated: 1 August 2022
Andreas Christensen | Chelsea -> FC Barcelona | Market value: €35m
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Free transfer
Niklas Süle | Bayern Munich -> BVB | Market value: €35m
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Free transfer
Ryan Gravenberch | Ajax -> Bayern Munich | Market value: 35m
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Fee: €18.5m (possible add-ons: €5.5m)
Yves Bissouma | Brighton -> Tottenham | Market value: €35m
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Fee: €29.2m (possible add-ons: €6m)
Karim Adeyemi | RB Salzburg -> BVB | Market value: €35m
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Fee: €30m
Sébastien Haller | Ajax -> BVB | Market value: €35m
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Fee: €31m
Nayef Aguerd | Stade Rennais -> West Ham | Fee: €35m
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Market value: €12m (possible add-ons)
Oleksandr Zinchenko | Man City -> Arsenal | Fee: €35m
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Market value: €25m
Fábio Vieira | Porto -> Arsenal | Fee: €35m
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Market value: €25m
Gianluca Scamacca | Sassuolo -> West Ham | Fee: €36m
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Market value: €30m (possible add-ons: €6m)
Sven Botman | Lille -> Newcastle | Fee: €37m
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Market value: €30m (possible add-ons)
Kalidou Koulibaly | Napoli -> Chelsea | Fee: €38m
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Market value: €35m
Antonio Rüdiger | Chelsea -> Real Madrid | Market value: €40m
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Free transfer
Diego Carlos | Sevilla -> Aston Villa | Market value: €40m
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Fee: €31m
Nuno Mendes | Sporting -> PSG (previously on loan) | Market value: €40m
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Fee: €38m
Bremer | Torino -> Juventus | Fee: €41m
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Market value: €35m
Vitinha | FC Porto -> PSG | Fee: €41.5m
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Market value: €30m
Franck Kessié | AC Milan -> FC Barcelona | Market value: €45m
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Free transfer
Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich -> FC Barcelona | Fee: €45m
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Market value: €45m (possible add-ons: €5m)
Paul Pogba | Man United -> Juventus | Market value: €48m
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Free transfer
Kalvin Phillips | Leeds -> Man City | Market value: €50m
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Fee: €48.8m
Jules Koundé | Sevilla -> FC Barcelona | Fee: €50m
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Market value: €60m
Gabriel Jesus | Man City -> Arsenal | Fee: €52.2m
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Market value: €50m
Lisandro Martínez | Ajax -> Man United | Fee: €57.37m
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Market value: €32m (possible add-ons: €10m)
Raphinha | Leeds -> FC Barcelona | Fee: €58m
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Market value: €45m (possible add-ons: €9m)
Richarlison | Everton -> Tottenham | Fee: €58m
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Market value: €48m
Federico Chiesa | Fiorentina -> Juventus (previously on loan) | Market value: €70m
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Fee: €40m + €12.6m loan fee (possible add-ons: €7.4m)
Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea -> Inter Milan | Market value: €70m
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Loan fee: €8m
Sadio Mané | Liverpool -> Bayern Munich | Market value: €70m
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Fee: €32m (possible add-ons: €9m)
Raheem Sterling | Man City -> Chelsea | Market value: €70m
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Fee: €56.2m
Matthijs de Ligt | Juventus -> Bayern Munich | Market value: €70m
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Fee: €67m (possible add-ons: €10m)
Darwin Núñez | Benfica -> Liverpool | Fee: €75m
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Market value: €55m (possible add-ons: €25m)
Aurélien Tchouameni | Monaco -> Real Madrid | Fee: €80m
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Market value: €60m (possible add-ons: €20m)
Erling Haaland | BVB -> Man City | Market value: €150m
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Fee: €60m
The 35-time Netherlands international, who has a contract until 2025, joined the Nerazzurri for €13.7 million from PSV Eindhoven just last year and quickly established himself as a regular starter. The Rotterdam native made a total of 45 appearances for head coach Simone Inzaghi’s side, where he played more attack-minded than in the national team. He increased his market value twice during that time to now €25 million.
Chelsea interested: Leicester want world-record fee for Fofana
In addition to Dumfries, the best-case scenario is to sign centre-back Fofana as well. According to reports, the Foxes are demanding a transfer fee of £80 million to £85 million, roughly €95 million to €101 million, for the Frenchman. The 21-year-old would not only become the club’s new record departure, but also the most expensive central defender in history, surpassing Harry Maguire, who left King Power Stadium for Old Trafford for €87 million in 2019, in both rankings. Chelsea, who already invested €94.2 million in the signings of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, try to push down this price.
Mihajlović to Maguire – Players that broke the transfer record for centre-backs
1998 | Siniša Mihajlović | €17m
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From Sampdoria to Lazio
2000 | Wálter Samuel | €20.8m
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From Boca Juniors to Roma
2000 | Rio Ferdinand | €26m
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From West Ham to Leeds
2001 | Lilian Thuram | €36.2m
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From Parma to Juventus
2002 | Rio Ferdinand | €46m
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From Leeds to Man United
2014 | David Luiz | €49.5m
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From Chelsea to PSG
2016 | John Stones | €55.6m
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From Everton to Man City
2018 | Virgil van Dijk | €84.7m
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From Southampton to Liverpool
2019 | Matthijs de Ligt | €85.5m
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From Ajax to Juventus
2019 | Harry Maguire | €87m
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From Leicester to Man United
However, an agreement is apparently not in sight yet. Leicester head coach Brendan Rodgers recently declared that his protégé, who has a contract until 2027, is “not for sale”. Nevertheless, the Blues and manager Thomas Tuchel, who recently called for reinforcements on a regular basis, especially in defence after the departures of Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, do not want to give up. Fofana had joined Leicester for €35 million from AS St.-Étienne in 2020. Only once, the Premier League club paid more for a new player.
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