With the new Premier League season underway, Chelsea FC are still in the hunt for a new left-back, with Bundesliga side FC Augsburg rejecting the Blues’ latest offer for Abdul Baba Rahman
Chelsea FC have – quite deservedly – been praised for their transfer business over the past couple of years. Manager Jos Mourinho has been able to completely transform the team by making astute signings using the money obtained from selling players that were deemed unimportant to the Blues.
The champions have, however, been extremely amateurish in their pursuit of a new left-back this summer. The signing of Filipe Lu s from Atl tico Madrid, in retrospect, has not been particularly beneficial either from the player’s point of view or indeed the team’s.
However, it is the manner of his sale this summer and the subsequent failure to sign a new left-back that boggles the mind. Not only did manager Jos Mourinho announce publicly the club’s intentions to sell Filipe Lu s days before the move was official, it is now evident that a deal for a replacement had not been wrapped up.
Augsburg reject latest Chelsea FC bid for Abdul Baba Rahman
The Blues have been chasing the 21-year-old Ghanaian international throughout the summer, but it appears as though they will have to wait a while longer to secure his services – that is, if they still wish to meet FC Augsburg’s demands for the defender.
According to The Guardian, the German side have rejected the latest Chelsea FC bid for the left-back, believed to be worth a 25 million. The report claims Augsburg are holding out for a 30 million for Baba Rahman – a sizeable profit on the a 2.5 million they paid to secure the Ghanaian’s services from fellow German club Greuther FA?rth last year.
Chelsea have A?25m bid for Baba Rahman rejected by Augsburg. By @ed_aarons http://t.co/6mSoXLbWFk (Photo: Rex) pic.twitter.com/j6X5EvMQHp
a Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) . August 8, 2015
Earlier, the 21-year-old’s agent Sascha Empacher had confirmed that personal terms had been agreed with the Stamford Bridge outfit, with the final hurdle being an agreement on the transfer fee between the two clubs.
Chelsea FC will – quite literally – pay heavily for their poor planning
Former Blues left-back Filipe Lu s had two years remaining on his Chelsea FC contract this summer. As such, it remains a mystery why his sale was sanctioned by the Blues’ hierarchy before a move for a replacement was first wrapped up.
Whether it was a show of generosity by the club, or that the Blues believed a deal for a replacement was in place, the fact is they have now left themselves in a situation where they are desperate to fill that position – and every club in Europe knows it.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that Augsburg are haggling over the transfer fee at this relatively late stage in the summer transfer window. Having sold academy graduates Patrick Van Aanholt and Ryan Bertrand in the recent past, Chelsea FC will now have to dance to the German club’s tunes if they still wish to sign Abdul Baba Rahman.
The alternative is, of course, that the Blues sign a different left-back. However, not only is it likely that Jos Mourinho will have to pay over the odds for Plan B, the player who represents Plan B will, by definition, not be the player the club would ideally want.
Although there is no doubt that Chelsea FC will eventually sign a left-back, they would do well to learn from the experience and not repeat the same mistakes in the future.