If you were following Chelsea’s transfer activities almost a year a go now, you will probably remember the Nicolo Barella saga quite well.
It was being widely reported by many publications at the time, including The Telegraph, that Chelsea were trying to sign the 22-year old midfielder as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas.
The player himself has even confirmed that he held ‘concrete’ negotiations with Chelsea, as reported by The Metro.
But Barella ended up deciding to stay at Cagliari for the remainder of the season, and eventually joined Inter on loan in the summer with an option to purchase.
It has now been further confirmed just how hard Chelsea attempted to sign the young starlet, with Cagliari’s director of football Marcello Carli stating this in a recent interview with Corriere dello Sport, as translated by Sport Witness.
He said:
“Last January, Napoli did their best, like Atlético Madrid. [Tommaso] Giulini (Cagliari’s president) said no. Chelsea did everything and more. Maurizio [Sarri] wanted to bring him despite the transfer ban”.
Maurizio Sarri was desperate to replace Fabregas and give them extra dynamics in midfield, but this wasn’t to be and time ran out.
