Chelsea target Elye Wahi has revealed that he turned down a move to Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window, as reported by the French outlet L’Equipe.
Chelsea had expressed a strong interest in signing the 20-year-old and even made a £21.5 million offer to Montpellier for the striker.
However, Montpellier held out for a higher fee. Instead, Wahi chose to join Lens, where he signed a five-year contract in a deal worth £26 million (€30 million).
Wahi has gained recognition as one of the most promising young talents in France, thanks to his impressive performances for Michel Der Zakarian’s team over the past few seasons.
The French forward has an impressive record of 32 goals and nine assists in 92 games for Montpellier since his arrival at the club. In the previous season, he made 33 appearances, scored 19 goals, and provided six assists in all competitions.
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Wahi has not yet scored for Lens in the current season, featuring in two matches thus far. Despite this, the versatile forward is anticipated to have a significant role for Lens as they prepare to compete in the Champions League, which starts after the international break.
The attacker acknowledged that Chelsea showed interest in him, but he opted not to join the Premier League giants simply for the sake of it. He also mentioned that he was closer to joining Frankfurt.
“Chelsea – I didn’t want to go there just for the sake of it. Frankfurt was close, more so than Chelsea. I spoke with the manager there (Dino Toppmöller).”
“He speaks French and that was important for me. They had to wait for Randal Kolo Muani’s departure and waiting for it was too complicated. I don’t have any regrets”
Although Chelsea missed out on signing Wahi, they successfully secured the services of Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.
Unfortunately, Nkunku’s serious injury has left Mauricio Pochettino with limited options for strikers. Additionally, academy graduate Armando Broja has been unavailable this season due to injury.
The good news is that Broja has resumed full training with his teammates, and it is expected that he will be ready for selection after the September break.
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Last season, he appeared in 18 games and contributed to two goals before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a winter-friendly with Aston Villa in December.
Nkunku, on the contrary, is anticipated to return to play towards the end of the year. Chelsea have been linked with various forwards in recent times, and one of them is Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa.
However, Nusa declined a move to Chelsea towards the end of the transfer window. Arsenal and Liverpool have also expressed interest in the 18-year-old winger, making the competition for his signature fierce.
