Chelsea agree £54 million deal for Premier League star

Chelsea face Italian champions Inter Milan in their final friendly of the summer on Sunday. 

Enzo Maresca has endured a tough pre-season with his new side, who have lost to Celtic, Manchester City and Real Madrid and also drawn with Wrexham.

The Blues were beaten 4-2 by the Citizens, who they host on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and Maresca will therefore be desperate to see his side improve before then.

The London side have been extremely busy so far this transfer window, signing no fewer than eight players, but it now appears that they are closing in on yet another signing.

According to BBC Sport, the Blues have reached an agreement with their fellow Premier League side to sign the Portugal international, who represented his country at the European Championships earlier this summer.

Neto, 24, has been with Wolves since 2019 after joining from Italian outfit Lazio.

In that time, he has scored 14 goals and registered 24 assists in 135 games across all competitions, but his impressive displays have now attracted interest from elsewhere.

Neto looks set to join Chelsea before the end of the transfer window

The report claims that Chelsea will pay an initial £51.3 million to sign the player, having previously had two offers rejected.

A player-plus-cash deal, involving either David Datro Fofana or Trevoh Chalobah, had been touted earlier this week but was rejected by the Molineux side, before an opening cash offer was also snubbed.

As and when the deal is finalised, Neto will become Wolves’ highest sale ever, beating the £47 million that they received for midfielder Pedro Neto 12 months ago.

Neto’s versatility will likely have appealed to those in charge of the Blues’ recruitment, with the Portugal international able to operate on either flank, as well as centrally.

The deal for Neto will take the Blues’ spending past the £200 million mark, while the club’s American owners had already splashed out in excess of £1 billion since taking charge of the club in 2022.