Chelsea have failed with an opening bid for Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, reports in the Netherlands have revealed, but have received a counter proposal.
The Blues were active early in the transfer window, recruiting Liam Delap, João Pedro and Jamie Gittens to bolster their attack before getting their hands on the Club World Cup trophy and the riches that came with it.
Dipping back into the transfer market, Chelsea are working on a deal for RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons and have also agreed personal terms with Hato, who has informed Ajax of his desire to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, a deal with Ajax has not been as straightforward. ESPN note an opening bid has been formally rejected by the Dutch side, who have sent a counter-offer.
There is no mention of the fee involved, although reports have suggested Ajax are looking for as much as €60 million (£52.2 million, $70.6 million). Chelsea are thought to have tried their luck closer to €40 million (£34.8 million, $47 million).
Some Chelsea fans were excited to see Hato left out of the Ajax squad which beat Celtic 5–1 in a pre-season friendly on Thursday, even though he is part of the training camp. However, manager John Heitinga had previously confirmed Hato would be among a group of players rested after making late returns to the squad.
“He’s still an Ajax player,” Heitinga said after the game, going on to admit his uncertainty over whether Hato would feature in Sunday’s final friendly against Monaco.
He continued: “I can’t promise anything. We still have to train, and it’s still a few days.”
Hato would plug several gaps in Chelsea’s unevenly spread squad. The Blues currently have nine senior centre backs on their books but Marc Cucurella’s only natural deputy at left back is Ben Chilwell, who spent the second half of the 2024–25 campaign on loan at Crystal Palace after being very publicly exiled by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jorrel Hato: Chelsea Fail With First Bid, Ajax Send ‘Counter-Offer’.
