Chelsea tried signing Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez and PSV ace Ibrahim Sangare before finally opting for the late option of bringing in Denis Zakaria on loan from Juventus.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, with the transfer news guru explaining precisely how the Blues’ slightly bizarre Deadline Day transpired.
Zakaria looks a decent option for Chelsea, but it seems pretty clear that the Switzerland international was a last-minute target for the west London giants after they’d tried and failed to negotiate deals for other players in that position.
Alvarez and Sangare were seemingly the preferred targets for Chelsea, but Romano says those deals weren’t possible, and in the end one imagines most fans will be fairly happy with Zakaria, even if he was a bit of a late Plan B for the club.
The 25-year-old hasn’t quite got going at Juventus, but he’d previously looked a top talent during his time in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach.
“The Zakaria option arrived in the last hours of Deadline Day – there had never been any negotiations before. Juventus said yes for a potential loan with a buy option and Chelsea approved the move,” Romano said.
“Before that, Chelsea had negotiated for Ibrahim Sangare with PSV, and Edson Alvarez with Ajax, but with both cases there was no possibility of a deal.”
? EXCLUSIVE ?
? The midfielders #CFC wanted before Zakaria
? Why Arsenal didn't sign Tielemans or Luiz
And more ??
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 4, 2022
Chelsea had a busy summer under new owner Todd Boehly, bringing in big names like Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was another late signing alongside Zakaria, while the west London giants also snapped up promising young talents such as Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Gabriel Slonina.
Time will tell if this really gives Thomas Tuchel the squad he needs, with last season proving a bit of a disappointment, while this term hasn’t got off to the most convincing start either.