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The perennial lender to end his stay at Stamford Bridge to switch to the side of the Europa League
Chelsea released Lucas Piazon after nine years, the forward having agreed to a four-and-a-half-year contract with Portugal’s Braga side.
Braga won’t pay any fees for Piazon, who has yet to complete a medical examination with the Primeira Liga squad.
The Blues were keen to reduce their loan pool ahead of new FIFA regulations coming this summer which limit clubs to stocking senior talent.
The move was delayed, however, after Rio Ave refused to relinquish Piazon’s registration to a rival, despite Chelsea having the contractual right to recall and sell their player.
The 26-year-old was forced to wait for his move while lawyers for the club and FIFA’s TMS department became involved in resolving the dispute to allow the transfer.
Piazon has only played three times for Chelsea since joining the club in a £ 5million ($ 7million) transfer from Sao Paulo in 2012.
He was the oldest senior player with a contract at the club with Cesar Azpilicueta, but spent the majority of his career on loan at several different clubs.
Part of Piazon’s desire to leave the loan group is to find permanent housing for his young family, having had their first child at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Braga, he will reunite with former Rio Ave manager Carlos Carvalhal, who brought him to the Portuguese league.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are trying to cut Frank Lampard’s first team and are looking for solutions for Fikayo Tomori and Marcos Alonso, as they are reportedly considering an exit for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Tomori is attracting interest from anonymous Premier League clubs as well as AC Milan. The two Spanish internationals, meanwhile, are proving more difficult to offload due to their high salaries.
Emerson Palmieri will stay put although he has almost joined Juventus in the summer transfer window and Chelsea will choose to keep Rudiger, who briefly explored a move in January.
Tino Anjorin, Lewis Bate and Henry Lawrence are also considering moving on loan, as Chelsea’s first team are so big, limiting the chances of the next generation of academy players.
Chelsea called the three to train with the first team ahead of their FA Cup third round match with Morecambe, but only Anjorin made the squad against the Ligue 2 squad.
Baba Rahman, meanwhile, has received two loan offers from unnamed clubs in Spain and Germany, while Danny Drinkwater is among the players allowed to leave.
Chelsea have also rejected a £ 3million offer from Rostov for Ike Ugbo and are looking for £ 5million for the 22-year-old in-form striker on loan at Club Brugge.
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