Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Dutch defender Jorrel Hato from Ajax, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
The Club World Cup winners have been looking to bolster their left-back ranks and provide cover for Marc Cucurella, who amassed 4,346 minutes of football in 54 games across all competitions, the most by any player in the team.
The other left-backs, Renato Veiga and Ben Chilwell, who spent last season on loan at Juventus and Crystal Palace, respectively, are not in Enzo Maresca’s plans and are heavily linked with moves away from the club.
Hato has been high on the club’s list of targets to provide cover at left-back, and it appears Chelsea have finally landed their target.
According to Ornstein, Chelsea have reached a ‘total agreement’ with Ajax over the permanent transfer of Hato to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Netherlands international will put pen to paper on a contract until 2032, with Chelsea agreeing to pay the Eredivisie giants over £34m, with a sell-on clause also included in the agreement, as per the report.
In a new development, football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that the 19-year-old has been given the green light to fly to London for his medical, after which he will sign his contract and the transfer will be made official.
Shrewd addition
Hato made his senior Ajax debut in February 2023 at just 16 years and 335 days old—becoming the club’s third-youngest Eredivisie debutant in history.
Though only 19, Hato won’t be daunted by the challenge of Premier League football.
Comfortable at both centre-back and left-back, he adds much-needed depth and competition to Chelsea’s defence, which is enjoying a turnaround ahead of the 2025/26 campaign following their Club World Cup success.
But Hato is far more than just a squad option. Chelsea fans have every reason to be excited about the talent arriving at Stamford Bridge. His rapid rise has been remarkable—and it’s only the beginning.
There’s no urgent expectation for him to displace Cucurella, but his swift development indicates he may challenge for regular minutes sooner than anticipated.
He would become Chelsea’s eighth summer addition, following the arrivals of Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian, and Kendry Paez—who is expected to spend the season on loan at Strasbourg.
