CHELSEA’S owners have reached an agreement with Brighton to sign Julio Enciso.
The Blues chiefs have now pinched 15 players and staff members from their Premier League rivals since Todd Boehly took over as co-owner and chairman in 2022.
According to transfer insider David Ornstein, BlueCo have reached an agreement on an undisclosed fee – thought to be around £16m – with the Seagulls for the playmaker.
Personal terms are in place for the Paraguay international to leave Brighton after three years.
Enciso is expected to initially join Strasbourg, who are also owned by BlueCo.
Nevertheless, the versatile midfielder is viewed as a long-term Chelsea player.
The attacking midfielder was not part of Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler’s plans for this campaign.
The Paraguayan ace spent the second half of last season on loan at Ipswich Town and has chosen to join BlueCo’s multi-club project for his next step.
Enciso moved to Amex Stadium from Libertad in 2022 and amassed a total of five goals and six assists in 57 appearances.
And his imminent arrival will take the Premier League giants’ total spending for Brighton players and staff beyond £257million.
The Blues started with youngsters Zak Sturge and Shumaira Mheuka just over a month into the Boehly era three years ago.
Marc Cucurella then followed in a £62m transfer before Graham Potter took over at the helm.
As part of the deal for Potter, Chelsea paid in excess of £21m in compensation as he was joined by five staff members – Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno Saltor, Ben Roberts and Kyle Macauley.
In December of that same year Paul Winstanley swapped the Amex for Stamford Bridge when he was appointed sporting director.
Then in February 2024 Sam Jewell made the switch to lead the club’s global scouting network and take charge of player negotiations.
Next, Chelsea smashed the British transfer record to land Moises Caicedo for a staggering £115m.
That same month, they also sealed a £25m deal for Robert Sanchez.
And this summer Chelsea added Joao Pedro following a £55m deal with Brighton.
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