Chelsea had asked about Porto forward Jesús Manuel Corona before the Coronavirus outbreak according to his agent Matias Bunge.
The Mexican forward has been in fine form for the Liga Nos giants this season, scoring four goals and registering 17 assists in 43 games so far.
That form has attracted interest from around Europe, with Chelsea named on several occasions as potential suitors.
That was later disputed in Portugal, with claims that his agent may be making up the claims of interest from Stamford Bridge to ramp up interest in his client.
However, Bunge has insisted that the interest was genuine, although there was no formal approach.
“When Corona renewed the contract, for two more years, that is, until 2022, the value of the termination clause decreased,” he told A Bola.
“In reality, there have been conversations with several clubs, but with the emergence of Covid-19 everything changed, and for three months the clubs were practically stopped.
“But the scenario is going to start to change and I think the market is going to start to cheer up because the clubs are co-hosting the needs they have.
“They (Chelsea) asked about his situation. But the same thing happened with other clubs, although none of them exercised a formal approach for Corona.”
However, according to the newspaper, Corona is now looking like an attractive proposition for those clubs around Europe as a result of his release clause.
The forward has a deal until 2022, but his last renewal saw him drop his release clause from €50m to €30m, a price tag that makes him ‘more attractive’ for the big side’s in Europe.
That’s a price that Chelsea could probably afford, given Roman Abramovich seems open to spending this summer, although their need is debatable.
Frank Lampard has already added Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner appears to be on his way, with a move for Kai Havertz also mooted.
That would leave little space for Corona, who is likely to find himself the subject of interest from elsewhere too if he keeps up his performances anyway.
