Como have completed the signing of Trevoh Chalobah from Chelsea in a deal worth up to €36m (around £30m). The transfer involves a guaranteed fee of €30m, add-ons that could push the total past €36m, and a sell-on clause for Chelsea. The 27-year-old centre-back has signed a five-year contract with the Serie A club, keeping him at Como until June 2031. The move ends an 18-year association with Chelsea, whom Chalobah joined as a nine-year-old before working his way into the first team.
Como manager Cesc Fabregas made a personal push to land Chalobah, calling him directly to explain his plans for the club. "Trevoh is an important signing for us and a player who represents the level of ambition we have at this club," Fabregas said. "He is a leader who can raise the level of the team... he gives us strength, speed and personality in defence, as well as the technical quality to build from the back." Fabregas also pointed to Chalobah's versatility, comfortable in a back three or a back four, as Como prepare for their first-ever Champions League campaign. The club have spent close to $150m this summer, including re-signing playmaker Nico Paz, as they build a squad capable of competing in Serie A and Europe.
Chelsea will feel the loss of a player who, by the end of last season, was their most-used centre-back. Chalobah made 47 appearances in 2025-26, 41 of them starts, playing more minutes than any other Chelsea defender and scoring three goals. He forced his way back into first-team contention after being recalled from a loan at Crystal Palace in January 2025, and could cover across the back line when needed. In a short statement, Chelsea thanked him "for his years of loyal service" and wished him well in Italy.
Chalobah leaves Stamford Bridge with an FA Cup, a Conference League title, the Club World Cup and the Super Cup among his honours, all won during his time as a first-team player. His farewell message reflected on nearly two decades at the club: "I arrived as a nine-year-old with a dream, and I leave as a man who's lived that dream in ways I never imagined... I gave everything I had, and I'm proud of the person this club helped me become."
At Como, Chalobah is expected to slot straight into a defence being rebuilt for continental football. His ability to play in either a back three or back four gives Fabregas options, while his experience of Premier League football and a trophy-laden dressing room is exactly the profile Como have targeted as they prepare to test themselves against Europe's best for the first time.
Chalobah and Fabregas already knew each other from Chelsea, where the Spaniard worked with him as a youngster before starting his coaching career. "The call with Cesc was really good, he showed how much he wanted me," Chalobah said of the move. That relationship appears to have played a big part in persuading him to leave the club he had supported since childhood for a new challenge in Italy.