If you thought not signing John Stones from Everton was the set-back of the transfer window, think again. Sky Sources report that Chelsea also failed with two deadline-day bids for Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos.
The Blues apparently offered two separate sums between £25 million and £40 million for the Brazil international. The Parisian club deemed it to be too late and rejected it outright.
Jose Mourinho spent most of the summer transfer window chasing Everton’s Stones as he made signing the England defender his top priority. But, the Goodison Park club proved to be a major stumbling block and three separate bids were rejected.
Even a transfer request from Stones couldn’t set the ball rolling. Unfortunately for the Stamford Bridge faithful, the management was so confident about capturing him that they never looked at alternatives. This probably left the club high and dry because the bid for Marquinhos came very late in the window.
The pain of losing prime targets was somewhat assuaged with the singings of Papy Djilobodji and Michael Hector. But, Marquinhos is a very experienced defender having already experienced Champions League with PSG and World Cup with Brazil.
The fans were left wondering if the pursuit of Stones was called off and a bid for the Brazilian was made earlier. Truly, a window of lost chances for the club; hopefully, it doesn’t come back to bite at crucial times.
