5 May 2026 19:54 BST |<\/span> FootballTransfers runs through the latest Chelsea transfer news, rumours, speculation and gossip, including updates on Joao Pedro and Xavi.<\/p>\n Chelsea forward Joao Pedro has emerged as a transfer target for Barcelona in recent weeks, with Hansi Flick\u2019s side identifying him as a possible alternative to Atletico Madrid superstar Julian Alvarez.<\/p>\n The Brazilian has been a rare bright spark in a dismal campaign for Chelsea and only Erling Haaland (25) and Igor Thiago (22) have scored more than his 15 Premier League goals so far this season.<\/p>\n As a result, the Blues have no intention of sanctioning a sale, as per Fabrizio Romano. He told his YouTube channel<\/b>: \u201cJoao Pedro is highly appreciated by Barcelona and particularly by sporting director Deco, who has followed him since his time at Brighton & Hove Albion.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is undoubtedly a top striker and widely admired. However, Chelsea consider him a crucial part of their project. Despite Barcelona\u2019s interest, Chelsea have no intention of letting him leave, especially during a challenging period for the club.<\/p>\n \u201cLosing Joao Pedro this summer would send the wrong message, particularly after managerial changes and a difficult season. He is viewed as one of the club\u2019s most important players, and Barcelona are fully aware of this stance.\u201d<\/p>\n Chelsea are targeting a move for Barcelona legend Xavi amid their pursuit of a new permanent manager this summer.<\/p>\n The Independent<\/b> report that Chelsea want their next manager to reflect the ideology that has been built during BlueCo\u2019s time in charge, and Xavi is understood to fit this profile perfectly.<\/p>\n Xabi Alonso, Francesco Farioli and Cesc Fabregas also align nicely with the identity Chelsea want to create, although the latter is currently unlikely to leave Como.<\/p>\n Xavi has been out of work since leaving Barcelona in 2024, but he is keen to return to management this summer and is understood to be open to joining Chelsea if he receives a suitable offer.<\/p>\n Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon is on Chelsea\u2019s radar ahead of this summer, however fellow suitors Bayern Munich remain the frontrunners to secure his signature.<\/p>\n The Bavarian giants want to bolster their forward line with the addition of the 25-year-old during the upcoming transfer window and they have now presented him with a \u201cconcrete\u201d offer, according to Sky Germany<\/b>.<\/p>\n Bayern want to tie Gordon down to a five-year contract and talks over a move to the Allianz Arena are expected to ramp up over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Chelsea are among the clubs keeping a keen eye on Donyell Malen amid his immense form since joining AS Roma in January.<\/p>\n The Dutchman has 12 goals in just 17 games for the Serie A outfit, since arriving from Aston Villa, and Chelsea are monitoring his progress ahead of a potential summer pursuit, as per Corriere dello Sport<\/b>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s reported that Barcelona, Manchester United and Newcastle are also interested in Malen, but Roma have no intention of sanctioning a sale.<\/p>\n Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has been a vocal criticiser of Chelsea\u2019s project under BlueCo and he once again ripped into the west London giants following their 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s shocking, and it comes from the top; that\u2019s where it starts from,\u201d Carragher told Sky Sports. There are five or six really top players on that pitch, and they\u2019ve just been beaten by Nottingham Forest\u2019s B team.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think, less than 12 months ago, they were taking PSG to the cleaners. I mean, there\u2019s no connection between the players and the staff, the players and the supporters. And you know what, in some ways it\u2019s a good thing, it tells you that football isn\u2019t just about spending and buying players, and a revolving door. It\u2019s about creating something together; something special.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s absolutely nothing there, and all you can say is that this football club is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n Premier League summer transfers 2026: All the Done Deals<\/b><\/p>\n Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Joao Pedro truth, Bastoni discussions, Ederson to Man Utd?<\/b><\/p>\n Transfer Rumours: Man Utd\u2019s \u20ac170m budget as Osimhen offer made<\/b><\/p>\n Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.<\/p>\n The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:<\/p>\n \u2022Google Play<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022App Store<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 May 2026 19:54 BST | 5 min read \u00a9 IMAGO FootballTransfers runs through the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4726","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\/4726","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=4726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n 5 min read <\/p>\n<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
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Joao Pedro to Barcelona truth<\/h2>\n
Chelsea add Xabi to next manager shortlist<\/h2>\n
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Anthony Gordon blow<\/h2>\n
Donyell Malen wanted<\/h2>\n
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\u2018Chelsea are broken\u2019 – Carragher<\/h2>\n
Related stories:<\/h2>\n
The FootballTransfers app <\/h2>\n