Crystal Palace are busy with several deals on transfer deadline day – but a Chelsea outcast could also arrive before the 11pm deadline.
At the time of writing, We Are Palace understand that Crystal Palace have already signed Maxence Lacroix – although the Eagles are yet to officially announce the Frenchman – while a £30m deal for Eddie Nketiah is expected to go through as well.
Furthermore, Matt Turner is having a medical at Crystal Palace as the United States international prepares to replace Sam Johnstone as No.2 behind Dean Henderson – after the England international joined Wolves in a £10m deal.
So, which Chelsea outcast could Crystal Palace sign on loan before the 11pm deadline? Let’s take a look…
Crystal Palace could still sign Trevoh Chalobah on loan from Chelsea
A story from The Athletic states that Crystal Palace are still a potential destination for Trevoh Chalobah to join on a loan deal from Chelsea – although VfB Stuttgart are also monitoring the central defender.
The Chelsea No.14 wants to leave Stamford Bridge – either on loan or permanently – after being banished by Enzo Maresca for no good reason, with the Blues ideally hoping for a permanent sale, but accepting that a loan is more realistic at this stage of the transfer window.
For those unaware of the situation, Chelsea are keen to offload Chalobah due to his status as an academy graduate, which means any sale will go down as 100% profit in regards to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) – which the Blues need to monitor carefully after some bizarre spending in recent times.
It is why Conor Gallagher was sold to Atletico Madrid, despite enjoying a strong 2023/24 campaign at Chelsea where he often captained the west Londoners.
It is a particularly strange decision, as the man from Freetown, Sierra Leone, actually started all of Chelsea’s final five Premier League games last season, scoring once as the Blues won all five.
Loan with fixed option to buy could prove to be inspired business from Dougie Freedman
Oliver Glasner does not really need another central defender with Lacroix on his way to Crystal Palace, but there would be no harm in negotiating a loan deal with a fixed option to buy for Chalobah.
It was not long ago that the 25-year-old was being spoken about as a £50m footballer when Bayern Munich showed interest last summer, as detailed by the Evening Standard.
Therefore, if Dougie Freedman can negotiate a loan with a fixed option to buy in the region of £20m – £25m next summer, which Football Insider state is Chelsea’s new asking price for Chalobah, it could end up being a bargain if the £77,000-a-week man enjoys a strong season.
The Chelsea academy graduate can also play in defensive midfield or right-back, so he should still receive plenty of game time at Crystal Palace, even with Lacroix, Marc Guehi and Chris Richards in the centre-back department.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as Chalobah looks certain to leave Chelsea…
