Crystal Palace have confirmed the loan signing of Ben Chilwell from Chelsea until the end of the season.
The news was confirmed just hours before the transfer deadline on Monday evening, after days of negotiations between Chelsea and Oliver Glasner’s side.
Palace had been left short in the defensive department after Chelsea recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his season-long loan, while Chadi Riad has also suffered a serious injury.
Speaking to the club website after the move, Chilwell said: ‘I’m very excited to be here. Crystal Palace is a club that’s going in a great direction.
‘You look at the last few months, with the results and how the team’s playing, and it was a no-brainer to make the decision to come here.’
Meanwhile, chairman Steve Parish said: ‘Ben has experience at the highest level of European and international football. I’m delighted that he has joined us on loan, and we believe he will prove to be a great addition to the squad.’
Crystal Palace have confirmed the loan signing of defender Ben Chilwell from Chelsea
Chilwell had been looking for a move last summer but nothing materialised for the full-back
Blues boss Enzo Maresca had been telling Chilwell since the summer that he needs to leave if he wants to play football this campaign.
This season, he has been handed only 45 minutes, as a substitute in the Carabao Cup win over League Two Barrow in September.
Chilwell joined Chelsea from Leicester in August 2020 for £50million and helped the club win the Champions League in 2021.
He has been capped 21 times by the England national team, scoring once.
While Chilwell was finalising his move to Selhurst Park, Chelsea were out on the pitch for their clash against West Ham – which they won 2-1.
Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring after capitalising on a defensive mistake in the first-half – before Pedro Neto and an own-goal turned the match on it’s head.
There was plenty of controversy surrounding Neto’s equalising goal, after VAR ruled that Bowen was not fouled in the build-up.
Prior to Neto rifling the ball into the back of the net, Bowen was seemingly fouled by Chelsea defender Levi Colwill – however nothing was given.
