Como push hard for Chalobah as Chelsea nears defender exit

Trevoh Chalobah’s Chelsea story is edging towards its final chapter, and the latest twist has arrived from an unlikely stage: Lake Como.

On Friday, reports confirmed that Como have returned to the table with a new offer for the Chelsea centre-back, a move that underlines just how serious the ambitious Serie A club have become. This is not a tentative enquiry. It is a bid shaped to get a deal done.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Como have put forward a proposal worth €25m in guaranteed fees, with a further €5m in achievable bonuses to take the total package to €30m. For a player who has slipped down the pecking order in West London, it is a statement of intent from Cesc Fabregas’s side.

The project clearly appeals. Romano reports that Chalobah is keen on the move, and Calciomercato.com adds that an agreement in principle over his salary is already in place. Personal terms, it seems, will not be the obstacle.

The context at Chelsea explains a lot. The club have agreed a deal reported to be around €60m (£52m) for Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix, a signing designed to reshape the heart of their defence. With Lacroix arriving, Chalobah’s route to regular minutes narrows even further.

This comes after a flat domestic campaign. Chelsea finished the 2025-26 Premier League season in 10th place and will not play in Europe next term. For a homegrown defender entering what should be his peak years, another season on the fringes of a mid-table side holds little appeal.

Como, by contrast, can put something powerful on the table: Champions League football. The lure is obvious. A club on the rise, a legendary former midfielder in Fabregas helping drive the project, and a chance to test himself on Europe’s biggest stage rather than wait for cup minutes at Stamford Bridge.

Inter had also been linked earlier in the window, but the momentum has shifted decisively towards Como. Their new offer, the advanced talks over salary, and Chalobah’s openness to the move all point in one direction.

Chelsea now face a straightforward decision. Cash in on a defender they no longer see as central to their plans, or risk holding a player whose future clearly lies elsewhere while the Lacroix deal reshapes their back line.

For Chalobah, the choice is starker still: stay and fight for scraps at a club out of Europe, or step into a starting role in Serie A with Champions League nights on the horizon.