€100million star to be rewarded for snubbing Chelsea transfer

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Atletico Madrid will reportedly reward Jan Oblak with a new bumper contract and increased release clause for snubbing a transfer to Chelsea this summer.

The Slovenia international had been a target for the Blues before they signed Kepa Arrizabalaga instead, but personally turned them down.

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This is because Oblak preferred to stay with a club already competing in the Champions League, and is set to earn him a new deal in the same way that Antoine Griezmann and Diego Godin have also been following their rejecting moves to Barcelona and Manchester United, respectively, according to the Times.

This is quite the blow for Chelsea, who could have done with a more proven ‘keeper like Oblak after losing Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid towards the end of the summer.

Having finished fifth in the Premier League last season, it seems CFC are really paying the price for missing out on a place in Europe’s top club competition.

Jan Oblak snubbed a transfer to Chelsea and is set for a big new contract with Atletico Madrid
Jan Oblak would have been an ideal replacement for Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea
Chelsea ended up signing Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal instead

Courtois’ departure is a big blow, and the west Londoners had a difficult time signing players this summer, with just Kepa, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic (loan) coming in as significant reinforcements to the first-team.

A bigger and more experienced name like Oblak would surely have been preferable to Kepa in goal, despite the 23-year-old’s potential, but despite meeting his release clause at Atletico, he turned down the offer to move to Stamford Bridge, say the Times.

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