Hellas Verona FC v Como 1907 - Serie A
Cesc Fabregas masterminded Como’s Champions League qualification (Picture: Getty)
Cesc Fabregas is looking to raid Chelsea and is plotting an ambitious move for Trevoh Chalobah.
The former Blues’ midfielder enhanced his burgeoning managerial reputation last season by masterminding the Serie A club’s qualification for the Champions League.
Como are hoping to bolster their squad ahead of the new campaign but still have only a limited budget to work wtih.
Defensive reinforcements are high on Fabregas’ priority list and Chalobah has been earmarked as a potential target.
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The 26-year-old appeared to have little future at Stamford Bridge when he was farmed out on loan to Crystal Palace 18 months ago, but an injury crisis saw him return to his parent club having made just 14 appearances for the Eagles.
Since being recalled, Chalobah has become one of Chelsea’s more dependable central defenders and was firmly established in Enzo Maresca’s starting XI before his own departure in January.
Whether Chalobah will remain a permanent fixture under Xabi Alonso remains to be seen, but he will not be allowed to leave his boyhood club on the cheap, according to Fabrizio Romano who reports there is currently a significant gap between what Como are prepared to pay and Chelsea’s valuation.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Premier League
Trevoh Chalobah is wanted by Como manager Cesc Fabregas (Picture: Getty)
No decision has yet been taken on Chalobah’s teammate, Wesley Fofana, but Axel Disasi, who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham, is expected to depart.
Chalobah, meanwhile, is ready to fulfil his World Cup dreams after receiving a transformative text from Thomas Tuchel as he strolled around Times Square at the start of the week.
The 26-year-old was enjoying some downtime after a frustrating end to a strong season, with Chelsea’s struggles compounded by the one-cap defender narrowly missing out on the England squad.
Chalobah went to the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes before heading to the Big Apple, with a trip to Los Angeles lined up until a momentous message had him chasing dreams, and holiday refunds.
‘I was on holiday in New York already, just planning my holiday and not thinking about the World Cup,’ he said. ‘I was literally in Times Square. I went to the shops to get something. It was when I got back to my hotel I saw Thomas had texted.
England FIFA World Cup 2026 Camp
Trevoh Chalobah is part of England’s World Cup squad (Picture: Getty)
‘I didn’t see the message for two hours. I wasn’t on my phone, I was just walking around the city. Got back to the hotel, looked at my phone and he had asked if I could call him. My heart just dropped.’
Tino Livramento’s calf injury led to Tuchel’s text asking for a call with Chalobah, who he gave debuts to at Chelsea and England and tried to sign him for Bayern Munich.
The call began with the grinning England boss saying ‘I have got some good news for you’, leaving the central defender “over the moon” to receive a call he had been manifesting.
An old Twitter post was found this week from the day of the 2018 World Cup final, with an image of the trophy along with the caption “One day #Believe” and a prayer emoji.
Chalobah said: ‘I remember I was on loan at Ipswich that year and that was when the World Cup was in Russia. And it has always been a dream and that day I decided to tweet it. I obviously believed one day hopefully I’d make it.’
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