Crystal Palace have agreed a loan deal for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, according to The Athletic.
The 25-year-old is set to join the Eagles for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, subject to a medical. He becomes Palace’s fifth summer signing following the additions of Ismaila Sarr, Chadi Riad, Daichi Kamada, and Jemiah Umolu.
Chalobah will give the Eagles more centre-half options following Joachim Andersen’s recent departure to Fulham. Palace have agreed to sign Maxence Lacroix from Wolfsburg and are expected to keep captain Marc Guehi amid interest from Newcastle United, bolstering their backline.
The Chelsea Cobham academy product has fallen out of favour under head coach Enzo Maresca, and the club froze him out of the first-team to force him away.
Chelsea have Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana on their books, and the Sierra Leone-born centre-half was surplus to requirements.
Chalobah joined Chelsea’s youth ranks at nine and made his first-team debut under Thomas Tuchel during the 2021/22 season in the UEFA Super Cup. Over the past few seasons, he has accumulated 80 appearances for Chelsea, netting five goals across all competitions.
Palace are desperate to bolster their squad following an underwhelming start to the season. They looked imperious under Glasner last year, and many expected them to push on this term, but it has not happened.
They started the new season with a 2-1 loss to Brentford before suffering a 2-0 loss at the hands of West Ham United last weekend, which has sent alarm bells ringing around Selhurst Park.
The Chalobah deal is not the only transfer in the works for Palace in the final hours of the transfer window. Leicester City are reportedly considering a late bid for striker Odsonne Edouard.
It has not worked out for the Frenchman in his three years at Palace, and the club is looking to offload him at least on loan.
