As reported by L’Équipe, Chelsea’s initial advances in their attempts to sign young Montpellier forward Elye Wahi have been rebuffed but competition for the player’s signature remains.
The London club, who missed out on a place in European football for the coming season after a disappointing Premier League campaign, offered €27.5m for the 20-year-old Frenchman following several days of talks with the Ligue 1 club’s representatives this week.
Chelsea will need to increase their offer to fend off competition from Atlético Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt, although Wahi is said to prefer a move to Chelsea despite reports he could be swiftly loaned out to Strasbourg, now partners of the Todd Boehly project, a switch the player is said to be against.
Wahi scored 19 goals in 33 Ligue 1 games last season, adding six assists, after 12 goal contributions across 33 outings (which amounted to far fewer minutes) during the 21/22 league campaign. Although usually a central striker, Wahi has been used on both flanks too during his Montpellier career.
Adam White | GFFN
