With the transfer window soon coming to a close, Chelsea have reportedly shown the door to another academy graduate with a Serie A side once again taking full advantage.
Chelsea transfer news
The Blues have stolen the headlines yet again this summer. Whether for the right or wrong reasons is still up for debate, but Todd Boehly has put any doubters to one side in pursuit of completing his Stamford Bridge project. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Pedro Neto and, most recently, Joao Felix have all arrived alongside seven others, as Chelsea look to finally turn a corner.
Returning to the London club on a permanent basis, Felix told Chelsea's official website: "It’s a chance for me to find a home. After two loans, Chelsea and Barca, I needed to stay permanently in one place. There is no better place for me to be than Chelsea. I see a perfect place to shine."
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Amid so many arrivals, however, there have been several exits with Conor Gallagher sealing a move to Atletico Madrid and Romelu Lukaku on course to end his Chelsea nightmare after an agreement was reportedly reached with Napoli. And the Belgian may not be the only one off to the Serie A this summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Tino Anjorin is the "next" player to leave Chelsea this summer after Empoli reached a permanent agreement to sign the 22-year-old attacking midfielder. Likely to square off against Lukaku in Italy, Anjorin will hope to become another academy graduate that the Blues regret letting go.
On course to become the ninth player to leave Chelsea on a permanent basis this summer, it's fair to say that the Blues have been in a ruthless mood in recent months.
"Outstanding" Anjorin needs Chelsea exit
After showing glimpses of his best form on loan at both Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth, all it takes is one look at the current Chelsea squad to realise that Anjorin may be better off heading for the exit door courtesy of Empoli. Leaving his boyhood club will be far from easy, but it's a must at 22 years old and unlikely to earn consistent game time.
Receiving plenty of praise during his time at Huddersfield, former manager Danny Schofield told FourFourTwo after a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion in 2022: "Tino Anjorin scored two outstanding goals. He’s a player we know has got a lot of potential. Tino Anjorin has game-winning qualities which is hard to come by in football.”
Two years on from that loan spell, it's now Empoli who stands to benefit from those "game-winning qualities" as another Chelsea academy graduate heads for the exit door.