As Chelsea were getting the job done on the pitch last night against West Ham, there were no doubt decisions being made behind the scenes as the transfer window entered its final hours.
The Blues were finalising deals that saw Axel Disasi and Joao Felix leave Stamford Bridge on loan, moving to Aston Villa and AC Milan respectively.
Chelsea also strengthened their squad on deadline day with the addition of young midfielder Matheus Amougou. Despite original plans to loan him out, he will remain at the club providing cover for the rest of the season at least.
Chelsea considered signing Alejandro Garnacho on deadline day
Enzo Maresca’s side were linked with a number of big additions during the January transfer window, with the standout name being Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho.
Despite Ruben Amorim’s desire to keep hold of the Argentine, Chelsea sensed an opportunity to get a deal done for the winger due to United needing to sell in order to spend big last month.
There had been no movement in the days leading up to deadline day, however Fabrizio Romano claimed that Chelsea did consider signing Garnacho late on, before deciding to push on with the squad they already had.
He said: “Chelsea considered Alejandro Garnacho [on deadline day] but decided to keep the current squad and make investments into the attack in the summer window.”
It was believed that it was going to take a fee of around £80m to sign the young winger in January, a fee the Blues were not willing to go to.
Pedro Neto stars for Chelsea in win over West Ham
One of the players who would have likely suffered as a result of signing Garnacho is Pedro Neto, who has been pushing to establish a regular starting place in the squad since signing over the summer.
The Portugal international starred off the bench for the Blues last night, scoring the equaliser as they came from behind to beat West Ham 2-1.
Neto admitted after the game that the win was important after the run of results they have had recently, and they will be looking to carry this into the FA Cup game vs Brighton this weekend.
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