Boehly chaos at Chelsea SCARES OFF transfer target

Tom Weber

• Updated: 26 May 2023 15:42 BST
• 3 min read

The chaos Todd Boehly has created at Chelsea has made the club a hard sell for potential transfer targets.

Under the American's aegis, the Blues have spent €600 million on transfers but without a coherent recruitment policy, meaning that even though they have a bloated squad, they still have some positions that need improving.

One of those is the centre-forward department where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been one of the Premier League's worst transfer flops in recent years. Signed for Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked mere weeks into the season, Aubameyang was not favoured by Graham Potter, and even his firing didn't markedly improve the Gabonese's fortunes.

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This means that Chelsea have been, and still are, looking at potential number nines, with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Dusan Vlahovic linked. A much cheaper option to those two could have been Marcus Thuram, but the Frenchman turned down the chance to sign for Chelsea due to the chaos at the club.

'A hard sell'

According to Ligue 1 specialist Jonathan Johnson, the son of Lilian Thuram rejected Chelsea's approaches because of the dire season they are having. The 25-year-old is out of contract in the summer but he could already have moved for a relatively trifling fee in January when the Blues were vying for his services.

"With Chelsea, there was interest in January but it's understandable that he decided not to make the move," Johnson wrote in a CaughtOffside column. "Looking at the state of Chelsea right now, it's a hard sell, and now they're going to be without Champions League football as well."

READ: Julian Nagelsmann wasn't first Chelsea choice

Johnson goes on to suggest that the most likely destination for the Frenchman is Spain, with Italy also a possibility. Atletico Madrid are apparently the frontrunners to land the man who has also previously been linked with Manchester United. Inter, who were already in for him during his first season at Monchengladbach a few years ago, remain interested.