Como complete deal for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah
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The 27-year-old centre-back has put pen to paper on a five-year contract in Italy, linking up again with Cesc Fabregas, who was briefly his team-mate at Stamford Bridge and now manages Como after the club secured a maiden Champions League campaign by finishing fourth in Serie A last season.
Chelsea will bank an initial £25.7m for the defender, with a further £5.1m in potential add-ons, following what were described as protracted negotiations between the two clubs. Some reports in Italy have valued the fee in euros, at closer to €30m plus €6m in add-ons, though the figures broadly align once converted.
Chalobah joined Chelsea's academy as a child and leaves his boyhood club having made 151 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals. He was capped twice by England and earned a late call-up to their World Cup squad this summer, despite having spent time out of Enzo Maresca's first-team plans.
Along the way he collected five major honours at Stamford Bridge, including the 2018 FA Cup and last year's Conference League triumph, and had loan spells away from Chelsea at Ipswich, Huddersfield, Lorient and Crystal Palace to further his development.
"Trevoh is an important signing for us and a player who represents the level of ambition we have at this club," Fabregas said. "He is a leader who can raise the level of the team, and I am very happy that he has chosen Como."
Chalobah said: "I'm thrilled and honored to be here at Como: it's an ambitious, rising project, and working with manager Cesc Fabregas again is truly special."
Chalobah becomes the fifth player to leave Chelsea for a fee this summer, following the exits of Andrey Santos, Marc Cucurella, Tyrique George and Jimmy-Jay Morgan, with his departure coming shortly after Chelsea's £52m signing of centre-back Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace left new head coach Xabi Alonso with defensive options to spare.
Como pipped both AC Milan and Juventus to Italy's fourth and final Champions League berth last season, with the Lombardy club also having been linked with Inter Milan's interest in Chalobah before the Serie A champions were said to have balked at his valuation.
His arrival gives Fabregas' side senior European experience as they prepare for their first-ever campaign in the competition.