'Green light' - Fabrizio Romano delivers fresh Chelsea update as Blues close in on £20m deal

Chelsea look to be closing in on signing Argentinian starlet Aaron Anselmino from Club Atletico Boca Juniors. The Blues were said to be ‘on a mission’ to secure the signature of the promising young centre-back and now Fabrizio Romano has provided a fresh update on the 19-year-old’s impending journey to the Premier League.

Taking to X, the Italian sports journalist and transfer specialist wrote: “Understand Chelsea already got green light from Aaron Anselmino on the contract and project, no issues on personal terms. Chelsea are in conversations with Boca Juniors over fee as current clause is in excess of €25m (£19.7m) with taxes.”

The rising star is highly valued among the young centre-backs up for grabs this summer, and it appears the Blues are now set to beat Premier League rivals Manchester United as well as European giants AC Milan and Real Madrid to the defender.

The centre-back signed a new contract with Boca Juniors this year which saw his release clause increase to £20m. Romano previously indicated that Chelsea would hope to bring this figure down which, according to the Italian journalist’s latest reports, they have succeeded in.

Anselmino joined Boca’s academy aged 12 and broke into their senior set-up last year. He has gone on to make ten appearances so far, scoring one goal. His talents have received plenty of acknowledgement from the Argentinian’s club president Juan Roman Riquelme, who praised the 19-year-old’s work ethic and tipped him as having the potential to be a star performer in the future.

Anselmino was also described as a ‘special talent’ by the analyst Ben Mattinson while the Argentinian media called him a “tower that clears everything head-on and almost always prevails in one-on-one situations.”

Chelsea have already spent £1bn on new signings since Todd Boehly’s arrival in SW6 and they show no signs of slowing down, despite Profit and Sustainability concerns, with the defensive starlet already the second centre-back signing of the summer window - Tosin Adarabioyo was confirmed as a Blue last month after moving on a free transfer from Fulham.