Chelsea face a potential decision over the futures of Pedro Neto and Jamie Gittens as their interest in Bayer Leverkusen teenager Kerim Alajbegovic intensifies. Standard Sport understands that Chelsea would have to consider selling Neto or Gittens, or letting the latter leave on loan, if they were to formalise their interest in the Bosnia and Herzegovina international.
Pre-season victories and injury concerns
New signing Emmanuel Emegha was among the goals again as Chelsea beat League One side Bromley 3-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday, but reportedly picked up a hamstring injury. He was omitted from Chelsea’s initial 27-man squad to travel to Australia on Friday, alongside fellow new arrival Geovany Quenda, who is reported to be dealing with a slight issue that is not serious.
Jamie Gittens also scored in the win, continuing his strong start to pre-season after a difficult and injury-plagued debut season at Chelsea last year. The Blues had previously beaten League Two outfit Crawley 3-1 at Cobham, with Xabi Alonso making it two wins from two to begin his Blues managerial tenure.
Competition for places out wide
Morgan Rogers’ £117million club-record move to Chelsea has increased Alonso’s options on the wing, with Rogers expected to spend the majority of his time on the left of the Blues’ attack. That has left Gittens and Pedro Neto uncertain about their futures, with their prospects further complicated by the club’s interest in Alajbegovic.
Gittens’ fast start to pre-season has offered a timely reminder of his quality, and he will hope to continue proving a point to Alonso with Rogers on an extended break following the World Cup with England. Chelsea are not actively looking to sell Neto and have no immediate plans to offload him, though it is understood they would listen to serious offers for the Portugal winger, who is also on a break after his World Cup exertions.
Emegha’s arrival and injury
Emegha joined Chelsea this summer from BlueCo sister club Strasbourg, having netted 26 goals in 65 Ligue 1 appearances and been made club captain last July. Two months later it was announced that he would join Chelsea ahead of the 2026/27 season. With Joao Pedro currently Chelsea’s undisputed first-choice striker, Emegha was always going to have to hit the ground running to contend for regular minutes next term. After goals in back-to-back games, he made a strong first impression before suffering the reported hamstring injury against Bromley.
Chelsea begin their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia next Tuesday (July 28), when they take on Western Sydney Wanderers at Accor Stadium.
