Chelsea have lost out in the race to sign Leandro Paredes, who has officially joined PSG from Zenit St. Petersburg, the Ligue 1 champions announced on Tuesday.
PSG have made an official statement to announce that they have secured the services of Leandro Paredes in a €40 million deal. The Argentine midfielder, who has made his way to Parc des Princes from Zenit St. Petersburg, was also heavily linked with Chelsea before he decided to make his way to the French capital.
Paredes joined Zenit from AS Roma in a shock move back in the summer of 2017. In around 18 months at the Russian club, the player grew leaps and bounds, having been a mainstay within the first-team setup.
?✍️ #BienvenidoParedes@PSG_English are proud to announce the arrival of @LParedss until 2⃣0⃣2⃣3⃣ ! ? ? https://t.co/EOYasmhtbl
❤? #ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/7dydDNC8bv
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 29, 2019
This season, the player had missed just three games in league and Europe, but it had been reported for quite some time that his future was not with the Lvi. And, much of the speculation concentrated towards Chelsea being the favourites to land the 24-year-old.
The Blues have been heavily linked with midfield reinforcements all through this month’s transfer window. The speculation only grew like wildfire following Cesc Fabregas’ move to AS Monaco, which has left Maurizio Sarri a little short on options.
Signing Paredes also made sense as a long-term decision, considering Mateo Kovacic’s loan deal does not entail Chelsea with an option to buy him. But, the Blues have now conceded defeat in pursuit of the Argentine midfielder. In recent days, it emerged that PSG had taken the lead in the race to sign Paredes.
Les Parisiens have indeed been in an urgent need to sign a midfielder lately, with injuries and other issues forcing Thomas Tuchel to deploy the likes of Marquinhos and Dani Alves in midfield. In particular, the absence of Marco Verratti has hurt PSG, while Christopher Nkunku has been facing an uncertain future at Parc des Princes.
At such a time, having Adrien Rabiot benched indefinitely has not been helping. But, the Frenchman does not have a future at PSG anyway, with Chelsea coincidentally one of the sides interested in him. Paredes had thus, emerged as a viable target for the Ligue 1 champions, who have now secured his services.
The 24-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Les Parisiens, tying him to the club till the summer of 2023. Believed to have been signed on a deal worth €40 million, the player expressed his delight upon joining PSG.
“I am very happy to finally be here in Paris. I am very excited by the prospect of playing for Paris Saint-Germain. It’s a big club. The squad is excellent and has big ambitions and the coach also wanted me to sign. All of that helped me make my choice.”
Chelsea have thus, lost out on the race to sign Leandro Paredes, and it looks like they might not be able to land any midfielder in the January transfer window. And so, probably ends what is likely to be seen as a mixed window for the Blues.
