Chelsea bid for star £21m ‘didn’t meet expectations’ of president; director ‘will travel’ to discuss transfer
Chelsea’s opening bid to sign Montpellier striker Elye Wahi will not be accepted, the French club’s president has reportedly said.
It was reported on Wednesday that the Blues made an opening offer to sign the young Frenchman.
Wahi has also been linked with London rivals Arsenal, though Mikel Arteta already has striker options in Folarin Balogun, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
Furthermore, the Gunners have already spent a fortune this summer – bringing in Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice – and will need to offload some players before bringing in anyone else.
Interest in Wahi is hardly surprising after he scored 19 goals in Ligue 1 last term and Wednesday’s report claimed Chelsea’s first bid for the 20-year-old striker was worth €25million (£21.4million).
Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin spoke to local newspaper Midi Libre about the club’s transfer business and Wahi got a mention.
Nicollin acknowledged Chelsea’s bid but stated: “The amount offered didn’t meet our expectations.”
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This has made it clear Mauricio Pochettino’s side will have to increase their offer if they are to land the youngster.
There has been talk of Wahi signing for Chelsea and then being sent out on loan to Strasbourg, who were recently taken over by Blues co-owner Todd Boehly.
This multi-club model has its perks and being able to send a player on loan to help their development while hugely benefitting both clubs is definitely one of them.
However, the idea of Boehly buying Wahi and sending him to a team well below his means is…dodgy.
Chelsea are pushing to sign the player despite Romelu Lukaku’s future yet to be resolved.
It is evident Pochettino does not want to keep hold of Lukaku, with the player equally as willing to part ways.
There is interest from Juventus and Saudi Arabia, though the Belgian is reportedly uninterested in a move to the middle east.
According to Italian outlet La Stampa, Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli ‘will travel’ to London to discuss the signing of Lukaku.
Chelsea apparently want €40m (£34.2m) for the 30-year-old. Juventus are hoping to sign the player on loan with an option to buy included.
Juventus’ interest did not go down well with Inter, who reportedly withdrew from talks to sign Lukaku after discovering he was speaking to their Serie A rivals.
And unfortunately for Chelsea, the Old Lady are remaining calm as they still have Dusan Vlahovic on their books.
As Lukaku does not want to move to the Saudi Pro League and Juve are approaching things slowly, the Blues could grow frustrated.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter, scoring 14 goals in 37 matches across all competitions.
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