Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos has addressed the summer links with Chelsea, stating the French club blocked talks immediately.
Chelsea’s interest in high profile central defenders is no secret. After heavy links with several top names, the Blues failed to land their top defensive targets in the summer. They wanted to have a viable option at the back after strengthening their attack with the signing of Romelu Lukaku.
Thomas Tuchel felt he needed another option despite many household names present within the Blues’ roster. Jules Kounde was his main target, but Chelsea failed to agree on a fee with Sevilla over the Frenchman’s transfer. They then switched their attention towards other names, such as Marquinhos, only for a move never to see the light of the day.
Paris Saint-Germain believe Marquinhos is untouchable, and the Brazilian defender has addressed rumours of a potential move to Stamford Bridge. The Mirror posted comments made by the PSG captain when the subject of a transfer to Chelsea got raised during an interview with Le Parisien.
Marquinhos said, “No! It wasn’t even an offer. In fact, the club blocked talks straight away. It shows the faith they have in me.”
“It is an honour for a club like PSG to put such faith in me. The fact that others are interested in me means I am doing well. It gives me the motivation to go on, boost my training sessions and play even better. Paris and PSG are the only things on my mind.”
The Brazilian defender has certainly been a strong presence in the PSG backline for years. He was one of the first players to be signed following the Qatari takeover for big money. Since then, he has settled in brilliantly and is now arguably one of the best players to have ever played for the Ligue 1 club.
In particular, he formed a terrific partnership with compatriot Thiago Silva at the heart of the PSG defence before Silva moved to Chelsea on a free transfer last year. Since completing the switch to Chelsea, the veteran Brazilian defender has also won the UEFA Champions League under former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel.
With PSG refusing to discuss a deal for Marquinhos, Chelsea looked unsuccessfully at other potential targets while finishing their transfer business without signing any defender. They were later dealt a blow when Kurt Zouma departed the club late in August to join West Ham United.
However, the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah has helped Tuchel immensely, and it remains to be seen if they look to pursue a move for a centre-back in January.