Losing Micheal Olise when it appeared a deal had been fully agreed with the Crystal Palace player will surely have come as a bitter blow to Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
Though they’ve sold enough players to make their own XI, the Blues have still been active in the market in terms of incoming transfers.
That’s not better evidenced than their British record capture of Moises Caicedo and potential hire of young Southampton midfield talent, Romeo Lavia.
It’s clear that the exciting Olise was next in line, however, threatened legal action from the Eagles appears to have seen Chelsea back out of the deal.
Crystal Palace informed club’s lawyers of their intention to consider going to a tribunal with Chelsea over approach for Olise ????
That’s how the story changed — Palace very strong on that and Chelsea left the conversations.
Olise accepts new deal, #CPFC v happy with that. pic.twitter.com/UY7uKg4nfd
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 17, 2023
What that means for the Stamford Bridge outfit is that it’s back to the drawing board in terms of which players to consider for their attacking areas, and it would seem that they’re ready to go head-to-head with Man City over one exceptional talent.
According to 90Min, the Blues have made enquiries for Rennes’ Jeremy Doku, even though it’s believed that the player has already agreed terms with the Cityzens.
At this stage, were Chelsea to firm up any enquiry with an offer, it would appear to be a very simple choice for the Belgian player; sign for City, an established project with success almost guaranteed, or go to an emerging project at Chelsea, more than likely for the long contract that would be offered.