Chelsea are reportedly getting ready to break their transfer record by making a shocking €150 million (£130 million) offer for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez. The Blues are said to have made the World Cup-winning Argentine their top target for the summer transfer window, with new manager Liam Rosenior personally leading the hunt.
The west London club have had trouble finding a consistent goalscorer since Todd Boehly and Clearlake took over, and Rosenior wants to fix that problem as soon as possible. Since coming to Stamford Bridge, neither Liam Delap nor Joao Pedro has really nailed down the number nine spot, so the club are looking for a more experienced player.
Since moving from Manchester City to Atletico in August 2024, 25-year-old Alvarez has become one of the best strikers in the world. This makes him a desirable but expensive target. Reports from Spain say Chelsea are confident Alvarez might want to return to English football, where he did well under Pep Guardiola. The Argentine scored 11 goals and set up 8 more in 36 Premier League games in the 2023–24 season, helping City win another title.
Alvarez has scored 40 goals in 82 games since joining Atletico, who don’t have to sell him because his contract at the Metropolitano lasts until 2030. The reported €150m bid would be more than the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in August 2023.
The Blues have had a hard time signing strikers in the past few years. For example, Nicolas Jackson was sent on loan to Bayern Munich, but his replacements haven’t been able to get consistent results. Chelsea doesn’t have many good attacking options right now, but a player like Alvarez would give the team a focal point that it doesn’t have right now.
Chelsea’s Financial Ability To Fund Alvarez Deal
The question of whether Chelsea can really afford to spend €150 million is more complicated than their reputation for spending suggests. Stefan Borson, a former financial adviser for Manchester City, has warned that the Blues may not have as much money as people think. He said this because UEFA are still looking into them and new financial rules are coming up.
Since Boehly took over in May 2022, the club have been very aggressive in signing new players, spending over £1 billion on them in several transfer windows. Some of these players are very expensive, like Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo, Wesley Fofana, and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Chelsea’s recent business is what saves them. The Blues made £266.6 million in fees for players they sold during the summer transfer window of 2025. This is more than any other Premier League team has ever done. Those departures have given the company some financial breathing room and helped it follow the rules of Financial Fair Play.
Next season, the rules for controlling squad costs will get stricter. This could make it harder for Chelsea to make moves. But the club’s participation in the Champions League this season brings in a lot of prize money and commercial revenue that could help pay for a big signing like Alvarez.
