Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso may have suffered his first transfer blow already. The big club has lost the battle for one of Europe’s most sought-after talents – and two independent sources confirm that Juventus won the race.
Chelsea’s transfer strategy this summer has surprised many. BlueCo has moved away from the previous policy of only focusing on young players with sky-high potential.
Morgan Rogers and Maxence Lacroix are players for the present, while Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck are on the rise in their careers. Nevertheless, Chelsea have brought in several young stars, including Marco Palestra, Geovany Quenda and Emmanuel Emegha.
One young player Chelsea hoped to get was Bosnian Kerim Alajbegović. The 18-year-old already has 14 caps and scored against Qatar in the recent World Cup. He broke through last season on loan from Bayer Leverkusen to Red Bull Salzburg.
Juventus won the race
Chelsea informed Leverkusen earlier on Wednesday that they were willing to meet the club’s €40 million price tag. But despite the clear interest, Chelsea have lost the battle for talent.
Sky Germany broke the news first – and was later confirmed by Ben Jacobs.
Florian Plettenberg in Sky Germany wrote on X:
Jacobs followed up:
Can Chelsea hijack back?
The fact that personal terms are not yet in place could give Chelsea a glimmer of hope for a late hijacking. But with Plettenberg’s clear message that “the race is won”, Chelsea will probably have to look for other options in the market.
One thing is for sure: Juventus struck first – and Chelsea are left with disappointment.
