Fabrizio Romano has claimed on his YouTube channel that Chelsea made a late attempt in January to bring in Sofyan Amrabat.
A lot of the focus of the Blues’ board was on securing a club-record deal in the shape of Enzo Fernandez.
It took until the final moments of the window for the club to make a breakthrough with Benfica, who had proven tough negotiators.
There may have been an element of panic beginning to set in over the midfield options that would be available to Graham Potter for the rest of the season.
Jorginho was sold to Arsenal, with a bid coming in that just couldn’t be rejected taking his contract into consideration.
Romano has claimed the fear of missing out on Fernandez saw them briefly look elsewhere on deadline day, with them engaging in conversations over Amrabat.
Chelsea wanted Amrabat on deadline day
He said: “You know that Enzo was the big deal of deadline day, but Chelsea had a conversation with Fiorentina for Sofyan Amrabat. There was an exchange of information because Chelsea never made an official bid, but they were asking Fiorentina for a potential loan deal, the same day as Barcelona.
“Fiorentina said no way. The word loan in the same sentence as Sofyan Amrabat is something the Fiorentina president didn’t even want to listen.
“No way for Chelsea, but it’s true that they directly, officially contacted Fiorentina for Amrabat.”
The 26-year-old is fresh off a sensational World Cup, where he achieved wonders alongside Blues man Hakim Ziyech.
The winger will perhaps not be too happy to be associated with Chelsea right now. He was expected to leave Stamford Bridge on deadline day, but a mishap with the relevant documentation saw his move collapse at the final moment.
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