Pochettino and Boehly at war over Chelsea signing of world-class star as player-plus-cash bid vetoed by manager
Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti celebrate PSG scoring against Real Madrid
There is a big disagreement brewing between Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino and co-owner Todd Boehly over their prospective signing of a brilliant player from Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports.
Pochettino was appointed as Chelsea’s new manager on May 29, signing a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months and officially starting the role on July 1. Chelsea have made some big changes to the first team squad this summer as they look to reshape it to Pochettino’s liking.
A host of players have left, including Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, just to name a few. The West London club have also completed the exciting captures of Christopher Nkunku – a deal which was initially agreed in June – and Nicolas Jackson. They have bolstered their academy ranks with the arrivals of several teenage starlets, too.
Recently, reports have begun suggesting Chelsea could pull off a statement signing by winning the race for PSG’s Mbappe. The French striker has been put up for sale by PSG as he will not be activating the option to extend his contract from 2024 to 2025, and PSG have no intention of letting him leave on a free.
On Sunday, journalist Duncan Castles revealed Boehly had begun preliminary talks with PSG chiefs to see if Chelsea could engineer a massive deal for Mbappe. Chelsea were then given a boost as Jurgen Klopp publicly ruled Liverpool out of the race.
On Tuesday, The Independent confirmed Castles’ information and stated that Boehly would try to land Mbappe by sending two or three stars to the French capital in a player-plus-cash transfer.
However, transfer insider Ben Jacobs has now cast doubt over whether the electric 24-year-old will be heading to Stamford Bridge.
This is because Pochettino has insisted he has other targets in mind. He will therefore not be happy at all that Boehly is attempting to sign Mbappe anyway.
Boehly ‘one of the first’ to make Mbappe contact, but Pochettino not happy
“PSG will now listen to all offers and have received some player-swap options. Paris-based sources indicate Todd Boehly was one of the first people to make contact with Nasser Al-Khelaifi over Mbappe. Yet those close to Chelsea continue to downplay a move. Mauricio Pochettino, who managed Mbappe at PSG, has also said Chelsea have other priorities,” Jacobs said in an interview with CaughtOffside.
“So Chelsea are either keeping any approach really secret, have low confidence Mbappe will move to the Premier League, or PSG are simply fuelling interest to put pressure on Real Madrid. PSG can certainly play on the fact that they believe trust is at an all-time low between Florentino Perez and Mbappe after the French international renewed his last PSG deal instead of moving to Madrid.”
Jacobs went on to reveal that PSG are fully anticipating Madrid to launch an official offer later on in the transfer window. However, they are not sure whether this will be a suitable bid, or if it will just be a tame attempt to show that they tried to sign him. PSG believe Mbappe has reached an agreement with Madrid to sign for them on a free next summer.
Plus, it is claimed PSG view August 12 as a ‘key date’, as this is when they get their season underway against Lorient. This game will show Mbappe what a season remaining in Paris will be like – there have been suggestions he might be forced to sit on the bench. Fans reacting badly to his transfer wish may also force him to consider an immediate exit.
