Chelsea in talks to sign £100m England star

It may well have been slow start to life for Xabi Alonso since becoming Chelsea manager but the Blues have now finally roared into life in the transfer market following the departure of Marc Cucurella.

The Spaniard’s exit to Real Madrid is a blow but those in west London will not be too despondant. Jorrel Hato is a fine replacement and Valentin Barco could on his way to Stamford Bridge too.

One player certainly already is. That slow start to the window has been put behind them with reports emerging on Tuesday evening that Chelsea have agreed a £43m deal to sign Marco Palestra from Cagliari.

Officially voted as the best defender in Serie A last season, not many on these shores know his name but he could become a household topic in the months to come.

With a defender already sorted, Alonso and Co must turn their attention towards bolstering the forward line.

£100m star could join Chelsea in big-money deal

With Palestra now all but confirmed, it will be interesting to see the direction in which Chelsea’s transfer business is taken.

Alonso is set to be given more freedom in the market than previous managers/head coaches in the BlueCo era, meaning things could be a lot rosier on the transfer front heading into 2026/27.

Reports have already touted the Londoners with a move for Yan Diomande, although it would appear that Liveprool have a better chance of securing that move. The Reds are in talks and have already sent one bid to RB Leipzig regarding the player.

Another option, although he is also being chased by others, is Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.

Good mates with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, it is widely expected that the attacking midfielder leaves Villa Park behind with a queue of Premier League clubs chasing his signature.

Arsenal look to be leading the race with previous reports outlining that the England man is particularly keen on heading to the Emirates Stadium.

That said, according to TEAMtalk, the Gunners are not the only side to have held talks with the player’s camp. Chelsea and Manchester City have also registered their interest and Villa’s £100m asking price is not deterring them.

The report notes that all three of the aforementioned clubs have held talks with Rogers’ representatives, presenting their respective projects as they bid to put themselves at the front of the queue to lure the player away from Unai Emery.

It’s also revealed that Chelsea’s co-director of recruitment, Joe Shields, is a big fan of the player having been crucial in his initial move to the Etihad several years ago.

Why Rogers could be Chelsea’s new Cole Palmer

It is safe to say that the 2025/26 season was the worst of Palmer’s Chelsea’s career to date and that was summed up in a nutshell when he was excluded from England’s World Cup squad by Thomas Tuchel.

Last term, the former Man City man only assisted three goals in all competitions while scoring 11 times. Sure, those numbers are not the stuff of nightmares, but it was way below par for a player who had become one of the best in the Premier League.

Indeed, back in 2024/25, the 24-year-old scored as many as 18 goals, assisting a further 14. His debut year at the Bridge, 2023/24, was even better. That time around Palmer found the net on 27 occasions and registered 15 assists.

Whatever your viewpoint is on the England international right now, he has regressed significantly, with fitness proving to be a problem, not just form.

In Rogers, however, Chelsea could sign a very likeminded player, a player who like Palmer was forced to leave Manchester City to progres his career, a player who like Palmer is versatile across the front line, capable of delivering goals and assists by the bucketload.

While the Villa superstar has never come close to matching the numbers that Palmer hit during his debut season with Chelsea, he does appear to be getting better and better as the years go.

Now aged 23, the attacking midfielder has scored 14 goals in back to back seasons, registering 16 assists in 2024/25 and a further 12 in 2025/26.

Similarly to Palmer, he is a magical player on his day. They can both score, they can both create and they can carry the ball forward with ease, dancing their way between defenders.

In a whole number of metrics, the two England men are very similar. Palmer takes more shots and produces more progressive carries but in other areas, they are almost identical across 90 minute averages.

Rogers and Chelsea’s star man play the same number of through balls, are just 0.01 apart for successful dribbles and they both complete a whole heap of progressive actions.

While it would be unreasonable to expect the £100m man to come in an immediately look like a player capable of nearly scoring 30 goals a season, there is a sense that the former PFA Young Player of the Year award winner is ready to explode once fielded in a better team.

Palmer realised he needed to leave to go to the next level. Now it’s time for Rogers to do the same.