Chelsea have moved fast and against all odds secured a major signing, beating Liverpool, Man United, and Arsenal to the deal
Chelsea weren’t planning any big-money signings this month, but speculation erupted last week linking them with a serious move for Rennes midfielder Jeremy Jacquet.
The latest update from Bobby Vincent at Football.London is less encouraging, though. While Chelsea remain in negotiations with Rennes, talks have apparently stalled over the past few days with little progress being made.
Manager Liam Rosenior sidestepped questions about the potential deal at yesterday’s press conference, though in fairness, he probably didn’t have much to say anyway.
The stumbling block is Rennes’ asking price—they want a club-record fee of €70-80 million. Chelsea are pushing to bring that figure down and spread the payments over time, but bridging that gap looks difficult given their current financial situation.
Even when high-profile transfer insiders like Fabrizio Romano and Ben Jacobs were reporting the deal was moving forward—with Romano claiming personal terms had been agreed—there were always questions about how Chelsea would make the numbers work. Player terms were never going to be the problem; it’s the finances that pose the real challenge.
The lack of movement isn’t particularly surprising. Until Chelsea can shift some players out, it’s hard to see this deal progressing.
In other news, Rosenior has defended himself against questions about his age and experience, insisting he’s the right person for the job. There’s also talk of Chelsea targeting Real Madrid’s Arda Guler, though making room for him in both the squad and the budget would likely require some unpopular decisions.
