Chelsea have completed a £117m deal for England midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, and now the west London club are interested in signing John Stones on a free transfer after the defender's Manchester City contract expired at the end of June. The 32-year-old, who made 295 appearances for City after a £47.5m move from Everton in 2016, won six Premier League titles and the Champions League among other honours. Chelsea are also in talks to sign Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix and assessing Como's Jacobo Ramon, while looking to sell central defenders to make space. Trevoh Chalobah is in talks to join Como, and Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile are available for sale.
As part of the Rogers deal, Chelsea are set to offload Alejandro Garnacho — the 22-year-old Argentine they signed from Manchester United last summer for £40m. Aston Villa have submitted a loan offer with a conditional buy obligation, close to agreement, though Chelsea initially wanted a permanent deal. New Blues boss Xabi Alonso said: "The situation is that we have spoken with the sporting directors. There is an interest for him from other clubs. So let's see how this develops. But hopefully, it finishes in the best possible way for other clubs." Garnacho made 43 appearances last season, scoring eight goals but only one in the Premier League.
“Chelsea eye John Stones after £117m Rogers signing, while Garnacho nears Villa loan exit.”
Paul Merson criticised the Rogers fee: "It's a lot of money. Crazy money. Bringing Morgan Rogers in for £117m isn't what Chelsea needed." Rogers, who scored 14 times last term, is expected to play in a similar position to Cole Palmer. Meanwhile, Inter Milan also consider signing Stones, who has 93 England caps and was at the World Cup when his City contract expired. Can Chelsea reshape their defence while integrating a record signing?