Chelsea got just £5m more than they wanted for Enzo Fernandez two weeks ago, and couldn’t sort out a replacement.
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The chaos around the Lamine Camara deal failing at the last minute slightly distracted from the fact that the biggest deal of the whole summer was done yesterday evening – Enzo Fernandez completed his long awaited move to Manchester City for £125m.
The BBC’s reporting on the deal had some interesting insight on the final day and how close things came to not working out.
Chelsea lose Enzo poker after City threaten to walk away
After Chelsea’s self-imposed 14th of August deadline, a £120m bid was never going to do it. For pride alone, Chelsea needed to get more than they were asking for two weeks ago. According to this report, they put their foot down and asked for £135m.
That was what was being discussed right up until the final hours. Then Man City threatened to walk away and leave Chelsea with an unhappy player. The Blues buckled and decided to accept £125m, the extra £5m thrown in to allow them to save some face.
They got an unhappy player out and matched the British transfer record – but doing it on the final day may end up costing them on the pitch.
In other news…
The chaos at the end of the transfer window left Chelsea short in midfield – the question now is whether their existing options can stay fit.
Chelsea had a vast volume of business again this summer – and ended up in the black, depending on how you look at it, of course.
