Transfer roundup: Chelsea sell Trevoh Chalobah and sign Jordan Henderson

Trevoh Chalobah’s long association with Chelsea is set to end after Como agreed a deal worth an initial £25.7m (€30m). The England World Cup defender’s departurte was agreed on the same day the club completed the signing of Jordan Henderson.

Chalobah will depart after playing 105 Premier League games and establishing himself as a first-team option during a number of turbulent periods for the club. The move will be seen as a coup for Como’s head coach, Cesc Fàbregas, with the former Chelsea midfielder personally pushing to bring the centre-back to Italy.

The clubs have settled on a package which includes £5.1m (€6m) in performance-related add-ons and a sell-on clause. For Chelsea, the departure of another homegrown academy product – Chalobah, now 27, has been at the club since he was eight – will generate pure profit, a key factor as they continue to balance the books.

On another busy day in west London the new manager, Xabi Alonso, welcomed Henderson to the club following his departure from Brentford. The 36-year-old joined on ⁠a free transfer ⁠after ​playing 34 times for the Bees last season, a campaign that also earned him a place in England ⁠World Cup squad.

“Given the size of the club, the manager, who I have great admiration for, ⁠and the quality of the players, this was a huge opportunity ​I couldn’t turn down,” ‌Henderson said in a ‌statement. “I was also so impressed with how much the ownership ‌want Chelsea to be successful and move in the right direction.”

With Jordan Henderson following Danny Welbeck to Chelsea, the club have shown a clear intent to sign more experienced players. Composite: Guardian Picture Desk

Henderson came through Sunderland’s academy before joining Liverpool in 2011. He spent 12 seasons at Anfield, playing 492 games in all competitions, and captained the team to Champions League victory in 2019 and the ‌Premier League title in 2020.

He left Liverpool for Al Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League in 2023, but ​departed after six months to join the Dutch giants Ajax. He moved on again last summer to join Brentford.

Henderson played only six minutes at the World Cup this year before breaking his arm in a post-match ⁠accident following England’s last-16 victory against Mexico.

He is Alonso’s second English signing ​of the transfer window, following the record acquisition ​of Morgan Rogers ​from Aston ​Villa.