Towards the end of the transfer window, it was no secret that Chelsea were looking for a new midfielder, eventually signing Denis Zakaria from Juventus on loan.
The Switzerland international does have a chance to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the current deal, but he certainly wasn’t their first choice.
Ahead of him seemed to be the likes of Ibrahim Sangaré, currently at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, as a €40m bid from Chelsea was allegedly rejected.
The Ivory Coast international has been a wanted man for a while now, and continues to be, showcasing his ability regularly for the Eredivisie side, even if his performances have dipped a bit.
He said: “Ibrahim Sangaré symbolised the uninspired attitude of many PSV players. The footballer from Ivory Coast is normally the epitome of strength and intransigence, but in Friesland, the midfielder was a shadow of himself.”
Whether that has anything to do with the rejected Chelsea bid, we don’t know, but it wouldn’t be surprising if some of the stars at PSV, such as Sangaré and Cody Gakpo, could have been affected by seeing chances to leave for a bigger club vanish late on in the window.
