“To be honest Chelsea made an offer but”… – £60M Brazilian star finally reveals Chelsea summer interest
Richarlison, a forward for Tottenham, has acknowledged that Chelsea did make an offer for him prior to his summer transfer to their London rivals.
The Brazilian international claims that before agreeing to a £60 million transfer to Spurs, both the Blues and Arsenal were interested in acquiring his services:
“I know Chelsea made an offer, and I believe Arsenal also contacted Everton to ask about my situation, but Spurs came in and paid the fee, you know? It’s as simple as that. Everton had to sell some players to avoid a Financial Fair Play problem, and the negotiations were very brief, to be honest. I signed the contract during my holiday in the Pantanal [a remote region of Brazil].”
It has been suggested that Tottenham’s decision to shell out a club-record transfer fee on Richarlison was prompted by late interest from Chelsea and the player has pretty much confirmed the rumours.
With the Blues also failing to sign Richarlison’s international teammate Raphinha, who opted to join Barcelona instead, the London club didn’t manage to strengthen their frontline as much as they would have liked.
Raheem Sterling had arrived from Manchester City earlier in the transfer window but the only other forward who arrived before deadline day was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It’s an area of the pitch that will likely be looked at again in the New Year.