Chelsea Updates: Saudi Arabia Intensifies £100m Neto Pursuit, Plus Players Highlight Key Contrast Between Alonso and Rosenior

SAUDI ARABIAN interest in Pedro Neto could be about to take a step up.

Al-Hilal’s proposed move for the winger, 26, hinges on the future of former winger .

The 29-year-old is on the verge of a move to Riyadh rivals, Al-Diriyah, but his current club want to be sure of a replacement in order to allow that move to happen.

They had hoped to get Neto for around £50-60million, though Chelsea are now demanding closer to £100m for their No7.

• Dream Team is back, free, and there’s £100,000 up for grabs!

Al-Hilal must also decide whether they would rather pursue a striker, having shown interest in , or a winger as their blockbuster signing this summer.

Personal terms have been agreed with Neto, meaning they last – though not insignificant – hurdle to clear is an agreement with Chelsea.

That could involve drawn out negotiations, with Chelsea also confident of interest from Premier League clubs – including – to help drive up the price.

Despite that, Malcom’s agreed move away from Al-Hilal is expected to speed things up from the Saudi side.

“TOUCH YOU!”

CHELSEA Files spotted one key difference between and during the Blues’ friendly with Real Sociedad on Saturday – their new man can control a ball!

Not that there should be any surprise about that, given Alonso’s quality.

But it should also spare him from being asked, as Rosenior was by , whether he was really a professional player back in the day.

After a clip of Rosenior ballooning a ball into the air on the touchline away at last season went viral, the former Chelsea boss revealed his players had been teasing him about it.

Alonso will not have the same issue.

A stray ball fell towards the Spaniard in the dugout in the second half on Saturday, he clipped it into his hand, swept the ball behind his back and handed it to a waiting player.

Had that been caught on camera it would have gone viral for all the right reasons.

CNG STARS

THE Blues’ Cobham academy system, or CNG, as they shall now be referred to, has long been a producer of elite talent who have gone out on loan to gain experience.

did it, did it, did it, , and so on and so on.

The class of 25/26 though might be the most exciting to watch in their endeavours this season.

Jesse Derry is on loan at Sporting, and since joining he has featured in all of their games so far – a 4-1 friendly win over , as well as a 2-2 draw with Estrela da Amadora in the league, and most recently a 3-2 win over Vitoria.

He has yet to start a match for them, but has been impressing in his limited minutes as a substitute – and seemingly sees comparisons between himself and a young , who wore the same shirt number as him as a youngster, with their haircuts not too dissimilar either.

Derry even reposted a video comparing him to a young CR7.

Derry aside, the rest of his talented teammates are on loan in the , or should be before the window closes.

Ryan Kavuma-McQueen made his debut for at the weekend, in a 3-1 loss to QPR, but was very impressive after coming on at half-time.

Interestingly, the left-footed wonderkid featured on the left for Portsmouth, whereas he has usually been more of a right winger in his time at CFC – although given their abundance of talent in that position at Stamford Bridge, a world-class left winger may be more necessary.

Then there are two Cobham wonderkids who haven’t yet secured loan moves.

Reggie Walsh was a gem in the eyes of , and he looks set to complete a loan move to , following in the path of current Chelsea captain Reece James.

And PL2 Player of the Season Shim Mheuka who is seeking a loan move to play first team somewhere in the EFL too.

Both of them, wherever they may end up, will be Blues to keep an eye on this season away from Stamford Bridge – which has become something of a hobby for a lot of fans, particularly given the amount of young players they sign.

Last season many were watching and Dastan Satpayev, who may also be one to watch on loan at this season, but most exciting talents should be a little closer to home.