Chelsea really like Benfica defender Tomas Araujo, according to Fabrizio Romano as he provided an update on the Blues’ priorities in the transfer market.
It seems we can expect Chelsea to target a top centre-back signing for 2025, with Romano also stating that the west London giants have an eye on RB Leipzig star Castello Lukeba, but with Araujo seemingly a player they really like and have tried to sign before.
The talented Portuguese youngster looks like the latest big name to come through at Benfica, and we’ll surely see him snapped up by a top club before too long.
Chelsea are clearly big admirers, according to Romano in his latest Daily Briefing column, so it will be interesting to see how this story develops in the weeks and months ahead.
Benfica surely won’t want to sell Araujo without a fight, though it is the case that they’ve often had to let their star names go in the past, with Enzo Fernandez a recent high-profile example as CFC eventually broke them down and got that deal done.
Araujo transfer: Fabrizio Romano on Chelsea’s interest
“Another player being linked with Chelsea is RB Leipzig’s talented centre-back Castello Lukeba. The 21-year-old is one of the most talented young defenders in Europe, for sure, and he’s been linked with some French clubs as well as with Chelsea, but what I can for the moment is that there is no concrete negotiation and no concrete talks taking place,” Romano said.
“Leipzig recently sold Mohamed Simakan, so for another key defender to move on it would have to be a crazy proposal. Chelsea are following many centre-backs, so Lukeba is one of many players they’ve been monitoring, which is absolutely normal, just like with Tomas Araujo at Benfica.
“Araujo in particular is a player Chelsea really like, and they tried for him in the final weeks of the summer transfer window. At that time, Benfica didn’t want to sell the player, but he remains someone on Chelsea’s radar, and they are also scouting Lukeba, but at this moment it’s too early to predict where he’s going.”