Chelsea defender attracts new club abroad after brother’s blueprint, as four-man shortlist shapes up
Trevoh Chalobah could follow in the footsteps of his brother Nathaniel by leaving Chelsea to play for Serie A side Napoli, according to reports in Italy.
Chalobah will be allowed to leave Chelsea this month after injury prevented him from playing any part under Mauricio Pochettino so far this season. Despite his recent inactivity, various clubs have been keeping an eye on him.
Sources have told TEAMtalk about interest from Bayern Munich, Roma and Crystal Palace, for example.
Elsewhere, there have been rumours about West Ham wanting Chalobah, who still has plenty of his career ahead of him at the age of 24.
According to the latest from Il Corriere Dello Sport, another candidate to take Chalobah away from Chelsea could be Napoli.
The Serie A champions are in the market for a new defender after selling Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich over the summer.
Corriere Dello Sport claims they have been considering Arthur Theate from Rennes, Nehuen Perez from Udinese and Lilian Brassier from Brest.
However, Chalobah is also in contention now after they set their sights on the Chelsea man.
Back in the 2015-16 season, Chelsea sent Trevoh’s older brother, Nathaniel Chalobah, on loan to Napoli. However, he only played nine times for them.
The younger Chalobah would be hoping to receive more gametime in Naples if he was to end up there as well.
Chelsea could sacrifice Chalobah
Chelsea still have their academy graduate under contract until 2028, but if they can sell him in January, it might free them up to spend on their own signings towards the end of the month.
There are no details yet about the type of bid that Napoli may be preparing. After all, the main target they have been focusing on so far is Theate, who has previous Serie A experience from his time with Bologna.
In contrast, playing in Serie A would be new for Chalobah, even if he has tested himself abroad before by embarking on a loan spell with Lorient in France during the 2020-21 season.
One thing in his favour compared to Napoli’s other potential targets is that he is the only player on their shortlist with Champions League experience.
Although their domestic form has been shaky, Napoli qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League, in which they have a two-legged last-16 tie with Barcelona coming up.
Chelsea, in comparison, do not have any European involvement this season after finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League last term, but have previously given Chalobah a platform in UEFA’s top competition.
Now, even though he is nearing his return from injury, Chalobah finds himself fairly far down the Chelsea pecking order.
The likes of Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile may all be preferred to him when fit, meaning Chalobah’s Chelsea career could be over around the 63-appearance mark.
It is over to suitors like Napoli or Bayern – who, coincidentally, need to find cover for Kim during his involvement at the Asian Cup with South Korea – to firm up what his next step might be.
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