{"id":22257,"date":"2026-07-28T08:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T08:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22257"},"modified":"2026-07-28T08:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T08:17:12","slug":"fabrizio-romano-claims-chelsea-could-sell-player-without-him-even-making-his-blues-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=22257","title":{"rendered":"Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea could sell player without him even making his Blues debut"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-378791\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Xabi Alonso has already had plenty to deal with as Chelsea manager. The gaffer arrived this summer and has had to deal with an enormous squad, with players drip-feeding back into pre-season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alonso\u2019s work in the transfer market has been hampered. New signings are arriving regularly even though the Blues have only signed two since his confirmation as manager, in Marco Palestra and Morgan Rogers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"a7ff3fe3-a05c-423f-9e8c-99ae14865441\" data-story-name=\"Chelsea Transfers\" data-comment-id=\"d12ac2d0-30dd-497c-b05f-899cc80e8ffa\" data-story-slug=\"chelsea-transfers\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Danny Welbeck to Chelsea out of nowhere! Share your thoughts below \ud83d\ude31<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Danny Welbeck of Brighton\" class=\"wp-image-378777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/Danny-Welbeck.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"Danny Welbeck of Brighton &amp; Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Brighton &amp; Hove Albion at Elland Road in Leeds, United Kingdom, on May 17, 2026. (Photo by Scott Llewellyn\/MI News\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\">Photo by Scott Llewellyn\/MI News\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Aside from Rogers and Palestra, Geovany Quenda, Valentin Barco, Emmanuel Emegha, Dastan Satpayev, Mike Penders and plenty of other players are set to arrive. Plenty of loanees are returning as well.<\/p>\n<p>It leaves Alonso with some tough decisions to make. Chelsea not only need to sell given they lack the financial boost of Europe, but their squad is far too big for a side not competing in Europe next term.<\/p>\n<p>But Alonso is still working on new signings. He has not stopped telling Chelsea to sign Alvaro Carreras, and now, Chelsea are in \u2018advanced talks\u2019 to sign Danny Welbeck. A surprise, given the striker\u2019s age.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fabrizio-romano-reports-chelsea-duo-could-be-offloaded\">Fabrizio Romano reports Chelsea duo could be offloaded<\/h2>\n<p>With Welbeck set to arrive as Alonso\u2019s third addition of the summer, it leaves Chelsea fans asking the same question. What about Chelsea\u2019s plethora of strikers already in situ at Stamford Bridge?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-1024x819.jpg\" alt=\"Chelsea FC Training Session\" class=\"wp-image-377482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-1140x912.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285443148-750x600.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"COBHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Liam Delap of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on July 14, 2026 in Cobham, United Kingdom. (Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)\">Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Liam Delap has been strongly linked with an exit, amid reports five Premier League clubs want to sign the former Man City man. Emmanuel Emegha has arrived at the club from BlueCo\u2019s Strasbourg this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Welbeck\u2019s arrival has seen Fabrizio Romano report that Chelsea would green light the exits of both Delap and Emegha this summer, if the price was right. It could see Emegha leave without making his debut.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Strasbourg's Dutch-Nigerian forward #10 Emanuel Emegha\" class=\"wp-image-376534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2273813894-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"Strasbourg's Dutch-Nigerian forward #10 Emanuel Emegha reacts at the end of the French L1 football match between RC Strasbourg Alsace and Toulouse FC at Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg, eastern France, on May 3, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON \/ AFP via Getty Images)\">Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Romano said on X: \u201cLiam Delap and Emmanuel Emegha are not untouchable for Chelsea this summer. Exits under consideration on the club side in case of good proposals in the next weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If Chelsea cash in on Emegha, not only would it see the Dutchman leave Chelsea without making his debut, but it would also see the forward leave in the same summer in which he finally arrived at Chelsea.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-welbeck-in-delap-and-emegha-out-the-right-move-or-bad-call\">Welbeck in, Delap and Emegha out: The right move or bad call?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s an interesting situation. Alonso clearly wants to sign an experienced striker who provides competition for Joao Pedro. Not many fit that criteria: a striker who knows Pedro well and can get the best out of him.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"781886b7-1151-45cc-9007-9d2fbacd4272\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Realistically, how much is Liam Delap worth?\ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Liam Delap price tag at Chelsea\" class=\"wp-image-373125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/06\/transfer-rumour.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"(Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)\">Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>That makes the signing of Welbeck a smart move, even if only a short-term signing in the grand scheme of things. Delap has failed to show he is Chelsea standard in his 12 months at the club since joining.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Emegha might have scored twice in pre-season, but there is plenty of reason to doubt the former Strasbourg man; his injury record, questions over his attitude, and whether he is good enough.<\/p>\n<p>Time will tell if it is the right call. But Welbeck seems like a safe signing, not just because he is ageing like a fine wine, but because he can get the best out of Pedro. Delap and Emegha miss out due to that.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/transfer-news\/fabrizio-romano-claims-chelsea-could-sell-player-without-him-even-making-his-blues-debut\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea could sell player without him even making his Blues debut',content_category:'Transfer News',content_ids:(378791,\"emmanuel-emegha\",\"liam-delap\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Xabi Alonso has already had plenty to deal with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}