Chelsea failed with two late bids for Paris Saint Germain ace Marquinhos, as Jose Mourinho looked to sign a top-class centre-half.
It is well known that the first choice defensive signing for the champions this summer was John Stones, but despite failing with at least three bids, the last of which was made when the player submitted a transfer request, Everton simply refused to sell. Having conceded nine goals in their first four league matches, this left Mourinho with a frantic dash to shore up his back four.
Baba Rahman was signed from Augsburg for £21.5million, and he will immediately place pressure on current left fullback Cesar Azpilicueta, who in turn could challenge Branislav Ivanovic for a role on the right. The latter can also operate in the heart of the defence, where Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma compete for a place alongside John Terry who has also had a poor time of late.
But according to Sky Sports, Mourinho wanted to install Marquinhos into the heart of his back four as he looks to defend the title and win the UEFA Champions League. It is believed an initial bid of £25.7million was rejected for the 21-year-old and this was then increased to £40.4million but PSG refused to part with a player they signed from Roma in 2013 for around £25million.
Chelsea were able to sign two central defenders though, yet neither can be considered as impressive as the Brazil international. Papy Djilobodji, a 26-year-old Senegal international, joined from Nantes for £2.2million, and Michael Hector joined from Reading in a £4.5million. The 23-year-old Jamaican, who has been capped six times, has been sent back to his former club on loan.
Chelsea
IN: Baba Rahman (Augsburg £21.5m), Pedro (Barcelona £21m), Asmir Begovic (Stoke City £8m), Kenedy (Fluminense £6.7m), Nathan (Atletico Paranaense £4.5m), Michael Hector (Reading £4.5m), Danilo Pantic (Partizan Belgrade £1.25m), Radamel Falcao (Monaco loan), Papy Djilobodji (Nantes £2.2m).
OUT: Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid £13m), Petr Cech (Arsenal £10m), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach £5.8m), Oriol Romeu (Southampton £4m), Gael Kakuta (Sevilla £2.5m), Josh McEachran (Brentford £500,000), Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact free), Marco van Ginkel (Stoke City free), Mohamed Salah (Roma loan), Christian Atsu (Bournemouth loan), Mario Pasalic (Monaco loan), Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem loan), Nathan (Vitesse Arnhem loan), Izzy Brown (Vitesse Arnhem loan), Tomas Kalas (Middlesbrough loan), Patrick Bamford (Crystal Palace loan), Danilo Pantic (Vitesse Arnhem loan), Nathan Ake (Watford loan), Dominic Solanke (Vitesse Arnhem loan), Juan Cuadrado (Juventus loan), Marko Marin (Trabzonspor loan), Lucas Piazon (Reading loan), Victor Moses (West Ham United loan), Michael Hector (Reading loan).
