There were a few transfer sagas over the summer that Chelsea were involved with. Some dragged on, and some didn’t end up transpiring, but the window was a success in terms of arrivals.
They perhaps could have had a better time selling some of the fringe players to make it even more perfect, and it was for this reason why they could not go all out to sign Declan Rice from West Ham.
The England international was heavily linked to joining Chelsea in the summer, but according to a report from The Athletic, The Blues could not offload two of their players, therefore could not sign Rice.
They claim that two permanent transfers of first-team players had been put in place which would have have allowed Chelsea to make an offer for Rice. But both fell through days before the transfer deadline.
Chelsea will go back in for Rice in January, says the same report, and they are hoping that the player will ignore any efforts from West Ham to offer him a new contract.
This always has, and still does have, a feel of one transfer that just looks destined to happen.
