Chelsea did not finish the summer transfer window as strongly as some of the fans had been hoping for. They did get a deal for Alejandro Garnacho over the line and the Blues will be hoping that the Argentine fulfils his promise at Stamford Bridge. But then, they missed out on both Fermin Lopez and Xavier Simons. And as it turns out, they might have failed to get another deal over the line.
Chelsea did sign Facundo Buonanotte on a straight loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion late in the window. But it appears that another player was on their radar, although there was not much, or anything, in the media regarding this interest at that point in time.
As reported by Foot Mercato, Eliesse Ben Seghir could very well have found himself far from Bayer Leverkusen and it didn't come down to much. A few hours before his move, an approach from Chelsea put all the certainties of the Moroccan international into perspective. But even though, considering for a moment about responding favourably to the Blues, he ultimately decided to head to Germany.
Bayer Leverkusen are believed to have paid a €30 million fee plus add-ons to sign Seghir from AS Monaco. Let's see how things turn out for him in Germany.
Chelsea almost hijacked €30 million-plus Bayer Leverkusen signing
Seghir is not someone we had seen being linked with Chelsea this summer. So, this news coming out of France does represent a bit of a surprise. One can only wonder how things would have turned for Seghir if he had chosen the move to Stamford Bridge.
It is what it is though. Chelsea have a pretty strong squad and do not need to dwell on it for a long time.
But it is very clear that the club were open to the idea of making more signings late in the summer window. Could they be busy in January?