Chelsea set to complete next transfer after breakthrough made

West Bromwich Albion are set to sign Alfie Gilchrist from Chelsea this summer.

The 21-year-old defender is looking forward to another chapter in his career and has had multiple Championship clubs interested in his signature as well as teams from Saudi Arabia. A permanent deal is preferred by both Chelsea and Gilchrist .

And West Brom have now agreed an initial £2 million fee with add-ons to sign him. The West Midlands side are managed by former Tottenham Hotspur player and coach Ryan Mason and currently sit fourth in the Championship after two wins and a draw.

Gilchrist spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Sheffield United, making 32 appearances across all competitions as the club secured a third-place finish in the Championship only to be beaten in the play-off final by Sunderland.

The Englishman made his first-team debut for Chelsea in December 2023, featuring 17 times during the 2023-24 campaign under the guidance of former head coach Mauricio Pochettino. In April 2024, he put pen to paper on a new two-year contract which was set to run until 2026, with the option of extending it for a further year.

Gilchrist was a regular feature for United during the first half of last season, but an ankle injury sustained at the end of January saw him participate in just two of the team's final 17 Championship matches, and he did not make an appearance in the play-offs.

Chelsea legend John Terry has previously praised Gilchrist - claiming that the young defender "reminds me of myself"

"Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself," he told the Daily Mail in November 2024.

"He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations.

"And he’s 100 per cent in everything he does. Whether that’s the warm-up to get him going, he’s all-in. "You don’t ever want to take that away.

"Even on his recovery days, he’s 100 miles per hour. "As he gets older, he’ll understand how to manage that and how to bee, but it’s a great trait to have for a young player and it can certainly set you apart.

"If you’re at Chelsea, you’ve got great ability in the first place to be there. But it’s really important for younger players to have that mentality and Alfie had that in abundance even from an early age."