Wrapping up the Chelsea transfer news, rumours and gossip in the 2022 summer window.
Danny Drinkwater has apologised to Chelsea fans for a “business move gone wrong” on confirming the end of his five years at Stamford Bridge.
Drinkwater’s loan stint at Reading finished last week, and the 32-year-old has now announced his official Chelsea departure too.
The one-time England midfielder joined the Blues from Leicester for £35million in 2017 but failed to make any telling impact at Stamford Bridge.
From injury gluts to off-field troubles, Drinkwater never managed to warm to his west London task.
The former Manchester United trainee helped Leicester win the league in 2015 but now finds himself a free agent, after four loans in three years to close out his Chelsea tenure.
“My time at Chelsea has come to an end, actually feels really strange writing this,” Drinkwater posted on Instagram. “Me, the club and the fans are hugely disappointed there is no doubt about that.
“Injuries, how I have been treated, mistakes I have made, issues off the pitch, lack of game time; the list of excuses could be endless but I would not and can not change what’s happened.
“Football’s a fantastic sport but this for both parties was a business move gone wrong, it’s as black and white as that. To the Chelsea fans I apologise for how this has turned out. I would have loved for you to see me at my best in that shirt doing what I love.”
What should we expect from Chelsea this summer?
Thomas Tuchel will be given as much as £200m to spend on players this summer by Chelsea’s new owners (The Times, May 25)
Chelsea players whose contracts will soon expire are keen to hear the plans and ambitions of the club’s new ownership before renewing long-term deals (The Times, May 27).
Who have Chelsea been linked with?
Marc Cucurella – Chelsea must pay at least £45m to win the race for Brighton defender Cucurella and will have to see off competition from Manchester City and Tottenham to land the Spanish left-back (The Sun, May 27).
Jules Kounde and Josko Gvardiol – Chelsea have drawn up an eight-man list of defenders, including Sevilla’s Kounde and RB Leipzig’s Gvardiol, in a bid to move as quickly as possible to solve the club’s centre-back crisis once the Todd Boehly-led takeover goes through (Daily Telegraph, May 25)
Ivan Perisic – Tottenham, Chelsea and Juventus are interested in signing Perisic but Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi hopes the winger shuns transfer interest and stays on at Inter (Daily Mail, May 22).
Jules Kounde – The Sevilla defender is stepping up his efforts to become part of Todd Boehly’s revolution at Chelsea and will be ready to step straight into a new-look defence under Thomas Tuchel (The Sun, May 26); Plans are in place to make Sevilla defender Kounde one of Chelsea’s first signings once their takeover of the club is complete (Goal, May 19); Kounde was blocked from a move to Chelsea last summer but he remains their top defensive target ahead of a summer of change in London (Daily Mail, May 20).
Alessio Romagnoli – Chelsea will also pursue a deal for AC Milan captain and Italy defender Romagnoli, who will become a free agent this summer (Mundo Deportivo, May 19).
Ousmane Dembele – Chelsea intend to re-open talks with Barcelona forward Dembele, providing he is still available once the club’s takeover has concluded (90min, May 19).
Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja will return to Chelsea after the completion of their respective loans at Crystal Palace and Chelsea (Fabrizio Romano, May 19).
Gleison Bremer – Leicester City and Chelsea are fighting it out for £40m rated Torino centre-back Bremer (The Sun, May 8).
Aurelien Tchouameni – Chelsea have fallen behind Real Madrid and Liverpool in the race for the Monaco midfielder (The Guardian, May 28). Two thunderous goals from Tchouameni for Monaco against Lille could have done his hopes of a big-money transfer some good, with reports that scouts from Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid were all in attendance (The Mirror, May 8).
Christopher Nkunku – Chelsea have been dealt a huge blow in their quest for Nkunku as RB Leipzig have no intention of parting ways with the player this summer (The Sun, May 10).
The latest players linked with a Chelsea exit
N’Golo Kante – Manchester United are considering making a bid for Chelsea midfielder Kante as he approaches the final year of his contract (The Guardian, May 28).
Antonio Rudiger – The defender has blamed his decision to leave Chelsea on talks over a new deal with the club going quiet early this season (The Guardian, May 21); Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger will join Real Madrid on four-year deal worth €400,000 per week at end of the season (Sky Sports, May 10); Real Madrid have inserted a £340m buyout clause in Antonio Rudiger’s contract (The Sun, May 11).
Levi Colwill – Everton boss Frank Lampard is plotting a move for young Chelsea centre-half Colwill, who has been part of Huddersfield’s push to the play-off final (The Sun on Sunday, May 22).
Hakim Ziyech – Marco van Basten has urged Erik ten Hag to make Chelsea winger Ziyech one of his first signings as Manchester United manager (Daily Mail, May 18).
Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante – Chelsea are prioritising talks over the futures of five players, including Mount and Kante, (The Sun, May 13); Chelsea fear Mount could be lured away by Liverpool or Manchester City taking advantage of the club’s ownership crisis (The Sun on Sunday, May 1).
Conor Gallagher – Everton boss Frank Lampard is planning a shock transfer raid on old club Chelsea for Gallagher (Daily Mirror, May 20).
Armando Broja – The striker’s impressive season at Southampton has made him a target for West Ham this summer (The Sun, May 6) and alerted Napoli to a potential move for the player on loan from Chelsea (The Sun, May 3).
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Midfielder is pushing for a move to Europe in the summer and could reunite with former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri at Lazio (The Sun, May 13).
Marcos Alonso – Barcelona are leading the race to sign Chelsea defender Alonso, who could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge as he enters the final year of his contract (The Mirror, May 8).
Confirmed Chelsea signings
Will appear here.
Confirmed Chelsea departures
Danny Drinkwater – Released.
Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 10 and closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
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