Chelsea are now preparing a £43m summer offer for an “incredible” new attacker, who could be brought in to replace Pedro Neto.
Blues readying summer bid for new playmaker
The Blues bowed out of the EFL Cup against Arsenal on Tuesday night, with former player Kai Havertz scoring in the 97th minute to seal their fate, and Paul Merson was left in disbelief by the performance.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “I honestly can’t believe what I just watched. This is Chelsea Football Club. They’ve got international football players. They’ve got a World Cup winner [Enzo Fernandez]. They’ve got players all over.
“This is not a bottom four, bottom five team. He [Wesley Fofana] is crying. He should be crying because they never had a go.”
Liam Rosenior’s pragmatic game-plan ultimately didn’t work, with Liam Delap squandering a big chance, while a number of the west Londoners’ other attackers have been criticised for their performances at times this season.
As such, Chelsea have now set out to improve their forward options, and they are preparing a €50m (£43m) summer offer for Como’s Nico Paz, despite Real Madrid having a buy-back clause, which means they can sign their former player for €9m (£8m).
In fact, the Blues are planning to get rid of the likes of Neto and Jamie Gittens to create space for Paz, who they want to partner Cole Palmer and Estevao in attacking midfield.
With Madrid planning to re-sign the attacking midfielder, however, they hold all the cards, so it remains to be seen whether a deal will be possible.
Paz could be “incredible” signing for Chelsea
Lionel Messi is clearly a big fan of his compatriot, having described him as “incredible”, and he has put in some eye-catching displays in the Serie A since arriving at Como in the summer of 2024.
|
Nico Paz’s attacking record |
Serie A appearances |
Goal involvements |
|
2024-25 |
35 |
15 |
|
2025-26 |
23 |
14 |
As shown, the Spain-born attacker is on course to blitz his record from last season, which indicates he has been making improvements to his game, while Neto and Gittens haven’t been quite as impressive.
The Portuguese winger is without a single goal or assist in his last eight Premier League outings, with Gittens also struggling, netting just one goal in 27 appearances in all competitions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
Rosenior must drop Chelsea star who only completed 8 passes vs Arsenal
Chelsea fell against Arsenal in the next-to-last hurdle of the Carabao Cup.
As such, offloading the attacking duo to make room for Paz this summer would make sense, but it could be difficult for BlueCo to get a deal done, given that Real Madrid are set to trigger the buy-back clause.
