Chelsea quietly updated its social media profiles this week with a revised version of the club badge, although the change has not been made official. The club website continues to display the traditional crest while the social channels show a new-look logo with modest adjustments intended to modernize the emblem.

At first glance the alterations are small. The new mark uses a deeper shade of blue and several borders have been removed. The inner circle and the letters are no longer surrounded by a yellow outline, and the white borders around the red balls and roses have been removed. The font for the words on the badge has been changed to match the font used on matchday kits last season. Perhaps most notably, shadows behind the lion have been removed and the animal now appears as a simple two-dimensional image.

The club’s conventional crest has become less visible at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons. In 2025–26 Chelsea adopted ‘CFC LDN’ branding, with the two words separated by the lion from the crest. The reason for this has never been explained, and many sceptics accused the unpopular owners of attempting to change the club’s identity.

The CFC LDN image was conceptualized as far back as December 2023, one year after BlueCo arrived at Stamford Bridge. Reports have claimed Chelsea are simply attempting to lean into their relationship with London and become synonymous with the English capital.

Separately, the lion motif will be used as the badge on Chelsea’s home shirt for the upcoming season in place of the usual crest. That is also expected to be the case for the away kit, which has not yet been formally released but has leaked online. For now the updated social-media badge represents an incremental visual shift rather than a formal rebranding, with the club’s official channels and the website showing different versions of the emblem.

Chelsea have moved to the next phase of a summer defensive overhaul with reported interest in Crystal Palace centre back Maxence Lacroix.

BBC Sport has reported Lacroix is now considered a “key target” as new manager Xabi Alonso prepares to reshape the squad and increase defensive depth. The 26-year-old has produced two strong seasons in the Premier League since his move to England in 2024, having earlier spent four seasons in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg.

Lacroix’s form earned him a senior France callup in March, seven years after his last involvement with the U20s, and Didier Deschamps included him in his World Cup squad. He is yet to play at the World Cup but is part of a group of centre backs that includes William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konaté and Lucas Hernandez, on a level with Champions League-calibre defenders.

Pursuing a 26-year-old such as Lacroix marks a notable shift from Chelsea’s recent recruitment drive, which focused heavily on very young players. Last summer João Pedro was the club’s oldest new signing at 23, Liam Delap was the only other recruit to have reached 21, and several arrivals were teenagers. That approach, driven by BlueCo since 2022, left the squad lighter on senior experience despite the financial rationale.

A promising start to 2025–26 gave way to a collapse that ended with Chelsea in 10th place. In December 2025, shortly before his sudden exit, former manager Enzo Maresca signalled the need for more experience in the dressing room. “When you have 20 and 21-year-olds and a player who is 30 or 31, and he starts to say something to them, it’s invaluable. But [young players] is the strategy of the club,” Maresca said at the time.

Alonso’s appointment as ‘manager,’ rather than ‘head coach,’ will give him greater influence over recruitment. Chelsea aim to boost defensive depth and build experience; that could lead to several departures. Trevoh Chalobah has been linked with Como, while Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo could also move on. Full back Malo Gusto is attracting interest from Manchester City, though The Times report Chelsea value him at £75 million, suggesting they do not plan to sell despite having Reece James and, imminently, Palestra on the books.

Real Madrid have identified Enzo Fernández as their primary midfield target this summer as the club prepares to prioritise a playmaker in the transfer market. While president Florentino Pérez has stirred debate about a possible “Galáctico” forward signing such as Michael Olise or Julián Alvarez, remaining funds are expected to be directed toward a deep-lying creator.

The Athletic reports Fernández is Mourinho’s “preferred choice” to boost the centre of the pitch, with Chelsea said to be open to selling the 25-year-old Argentina international for around £120 million. Fernández—who got himself into trouble at Chelsea previously for openly flirting with Real Madrid—has long been admired at the Bernabéu, and the player is reportedly ready to leave Stamford Bridge.

Other midfield options under consideration include Matheus Fernandes, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Kees Smit, but Fernández is widely viewed as the top candidate. The urgency to fund a large transfer means Madrid are expected to approve at least one significant departure. Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni are all listed as possible exits, with Tchouaméni the likeliest to command a fee large enough to offset a deal. AS suggest the Frenchman, who has already attracted interest from Manchester United this summer, could be the club’s “major sale”.

Fernández has been deployed in varied roles for Chelsea this season, combining deeper duties with more advanced positions and contributing 15 goals in all competitions. With Argentina he operates as a two-way, box-to-box midfielder, providing support to Lionel Messi and the attacking line.

At Real Madrid he would be expected to operate as one of two pivots behind Jude Bellingham in Mourinho’s preferred 4–2–3–1, although debate remains over who would provide the more defensive balance should Tchouaméni depart. The club’s lack of a clear natural defensive midfielder complicates squad planning.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s interest in Fernández appears to have affected Nico Paz. After a season on loan at Como, a €9 million buyback had been anticipated, but AS now reports Paz has been told he can expect to remain in Italy for another year.