Chelsea are in advanced talks with defender Tosin Adarabioyo as they push to beat Newcastle United to his signing.
While a deal is yet to be completed, Chelsea have made an offer for the 26-year-old and significant progress has since been made.
Newcastle have tracked the defender long term and were hopeful of doing a deal for him this summer. The club had put in an offer for Tosin and were hopeful of convincing him to join, having also held discussions about signing him when Fulham were in the Championship.
It was confirmed in April Tosin would leave Fulham when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The centre-back turned down the offer to renew terms with Marco Silva’s side, having also rejected a new contract during the 2022-23 campaign.
Tosin was also the subject of two bids from Monaco last summer and received interest from West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The move would see the Manchester City academy product link up with incoming Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca.
Maresca is a former assistant coach to Pep Guardiola and adopts a similar playing style to the Man City boss. Tosin worked with Guardiola before his City departure in 2020, and his style of play is in-keeping with Guardiola’s philosophy.
Tosin made eight first team appearances for Man City before joining Fulham in an initial £1.5million move, rising to £2million with add-ons as well as a 20 per cent sell-on clause.
He made 132 appearances for the club, and helped the team re-establish themselves in the Premier League after relegation in 2021.
Centre-back Thiago Silva has left Chelsea to join Brazilian club Fluminense. Chelsea will expect to welcome fellow centre-back Wesley Fofana back into the first-team next season after he missed the entirety of the campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
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