Chelsea "in talks" for first 2025 signing in versatile £30 million forward

Chelsea are in active talks to seal their first signing of 2025, as BlueCo and Todd Boehly set their sights on a versatile forward for manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea target new forward as Christopher Nkunku eyes January exit

The west Londoners could be forced to push for a Christopher Nkunku replacement pretty soon, as the Frenchman is reliably believed to have agreed personal terms on a switch to Bayern Munich.

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The west Londoners have made contact.

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has reported that Nkunku is Bayern’s top target for the winter, and the 27-year-old has reached a verbal agreement on his potential contract at the Allianz Area. The Bavarians are also looking to snap him up for Vincent Kompany as soon as possible.

Credible media sources closer to home indicate that Chelsea will push for a Nkunku replacement if the striker does depart, leacing to their widely reported interest in one of Bayern’s young stars in Mathys Tel, who has struggled for game time under Kompany.

That being said, a Sky panelist claimed earlier this week that it will be very difficult for Chelsea to get Tel out of Bayern, and their sporting director Christoph Freund has attempted to pour cold water over the prospect of him leaving before February 3.

“He is a very important player for us,” said Freund. “He’s a great talent. Our clear goal is for Mathys to make his breakthrough with us.

“We are very happy with our squad, both quality and quantity wise. Of course, if a player is unhappy, we can talk about it. But the clear plan with Mathys is for him to make his breakthrough here.”

Chelsea have made another approach to Liam Delap’s agents as an alternative option to succeed Nkunku (Simon Phillips), while Bundesliga insider Christian Falk of Sport Bild now claims they’re actively pursuing Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.

Chelsea in talks to sign Karim Adeyemi for this summer

The German was sporadically linked with Chelsea in the build up to January, and Falk says that the 22-year-old remains a serious transfer target for them.

According to the reliable reporter, Chelsea are in talks to sign Adeyemi right now, but there is a catch, as this would be for the summer and he wouldn’t arrive this month.

Adeyemi boasts 10 goal contributions from 11 appearances in all competitions (five goals, five assists),including a hat-trick in the Champions League, and can play anywhere across the front three, even as a centre-forward. Other reports have stated he could cost up to £30 million, with his deal expiring in just over two years.