Chelsea are still looking to close out the summer 2025 transfer window with a couple of major splashes, as Enzo Maresca and the Blues are highly interested in adding a two-headed attacking midfield partnership of RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons and young Manchester United player Alejandro Garnacho alongside Ballon d’Or candidate Cole Palmer.
The Blues have been one of the most active teams again this summer, snagging a new winger duo in Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Estevao Willian, as well as a new striker tandem in Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
For Chelsea, the theme of the window is pairs, and they have a pair of attacking midfielders they’d like to offload to the two biggest clubs in the Bundesliga in order to make space for a younger and better partnership of Simons and Garnacho.
In addition to shopping Christopher Nkunku to Bayern Munich, Chelsea have been trying to find a willing transfer partner for midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, with the easiest destination being a stay at Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the last season on loan.
Dortmund’s latest transfer offer
However, it looks like Dortmund aren’t offering Chelsea enough cash for Chukwuemeka. According to a report from Ben Jacobs and Alex Crook of talkSPORT, Chelsea have just rejected a fresh transfer offer from Dortmund for a loan with an obligation to buy that was “in excess of” 15 million pounds.
Chukwuemeka has made it clear that he wants to leave Chelsea this summer, and the Blues don’t really want the 21-year-old back either. He wants to stay in Dortmund. It appears the Blues don’t see him as a viable long-term option, whereas Simons and Garnacho more upside and are far better players here and now.
Dortmund and Napoli are two high-profile solutions and Champions League sides interested in Chukwuemeka, but Chelsea are very good at making sales and aren’t going to be pushed into accepting a bad deal.
Chelsea may be holding out for an even 20 million pounds or more as part of an obligation to buy or a permenant transfer, since the Blues likely don’t want to do a straight-up loan and be left in the same situation again next summer.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.