Major Chelsea transfer collapses as Euro giants fail to match key Boehly demand; second move could also fall through
Armando Broja speaks with Trevoh Chalobah before Chelsea game
The transfer of Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah to Bayern Munich is on the verge of collapsing due to a key problem, while Thomas Tuchel’s side may also miss out on their backup target.
Tuchel is in need of a new centre-half who can also play at right-back as France international Benjamin Pavard has left Bayern for Inter Milan. Pavard was heavily linked with Manchester United and Liverpool but has instead signed for Inter in a €32million (£27.3m) deal.
Tuchel knows Chalobah well from his time in charge of Chelsea and Bayern have resultantly spent much of the summer transfer window negotiating a potential deal with the Blues.
On Tuesday, it emerged that the 24-year-old is ‘keen’ on a switch to the Allianz Arena. Bayern then sent Chelsea an opening loan proposal, though this was swiftly knocked back as it did not meet the demands of Blues co-owner Todd Boehly.
According to the latest from Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Chalobah’s prospective move to Bayern now looks set to crumble. Bayern insist they only want to sign Chalobah on loan, whereas Chelsea would much rather sell him as part of a permanent transfer.
As the two sides are far apart in their expectations, Bayern will now hunt alternative defenders to Chalobah. Plettenberg suggests they will re-enter the race for Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap, whom they have already been in contact with this summer.
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However, Tuchel is facing a real headache as Bayern could miss out on Bella-Kotchap too. While they were pushing to snare Chalobah, Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund snuck in and reached an agreement of their own for the Saints man. As per the Daily Mail, Dortmund are set to sign Bella-Kotchap on loan with an obligation to buy.
Chalobah will be very frustrated upon finding out that his switch to Bayern has failed to materialise. Such a move would have been a great opportunity for him as Bayern are one of Europe’s most illustrious clubs. Plus, the former England U21 international could have been helped in Bavaria by compatriot Harry Kane.
Instead, Chalobah may now have to remain at Stamford Bridge and simply warm the bench. Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has a host of centre-backs already at his disposal, including Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill. And things will go from bad to worse for Chalobah when Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile return from injury.
