Date: 1st September 2021 at 7:28pm
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Chelsea’s loan acquisition of Saul Niguez completed a fantastic transfer window for The Blues.

The signing of the Atletico Madrid midfielder was sealed at the very end of transfer deadline day, and the Spaniard has boosted their options in midfield.

Along with their new record signing Romelu Lukaku, who returned to the West Londoners eight years after leaving them to join Everton, the Blues also signed ex-Fulham ‘keeper Marcus Bettinelli.

However, Thomas Tuchel’s side did not have it all their way, and Shoot takes a look at three players Chelsea missed out on this window.

Jules Kounde

Kounde’s fee was increased at the last minute by Sevilla.

The Sevilla defender looked certain to join Chelsea, but a report from The Athletic suggests the move for the Frenchman was cooled off, after the Spanish club demanded an extra £12m, right at the death.

Tuchel’s side were under the impression a verbal agreement had been made for the defender, but the extra price hike would have likely seen the Blues make him one of the most expensive Premier League defenders of all time, if they catered to Sevilla’s demands.

Rather than signing a new central defender, Chelsea instead sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham United for £30m.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Chelsea were one of the first clubs interested to sign Donnarumma on a free transfer.

Paris Saint-Germain’s signing of the Euro 2020 player of the tournament will probably go down as the bargain of the century, assuming the 22-year-old plays well for PSG.

However, according to Football.London, Chelsea tried to sign the stopper first, even holding talks with the then-AC Milan goalkeeper.

The French giants won the race for Donnarumma, and Chelsea opted to stick with Edouard Mendy who has enjoyed a brilliant Blues career to date.

Erling Haaland

Haaland’s wages proved to be too big of a stumbling block for Chelsea.

Erling Haaland had been linked with Chelsea for months, with reports linking the Borussia Dortmund forward to a move to Stamford Bridge going as far back as April.

However, reports from The Metro suggested Chelsea ended their interest after Haaland’s representatives demanded a weekly salary of £820,000 per week, as well as £40m in agent’s fees.

Chelsea’s financial capabilities are well documented, but even this was too much for the Blues who then turned their attention to signing Lukaku instead.

 
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