Chelsea nearly won the race for €30m teenager during the summer transfer window
Chelsea had a very productive summer transfer window, although supporters are understandably unhappy with the club’s failure to sign a new midfielder.
It could have been an even more productive window, then, had they signed Lamine Camara or someone else to play in the engine room. Chelsea were hopeful of bringing in Camara, but AS Monaco pulled the plug on his proposed move at the very last second.
There also would have been figures at the club who would have been disappointed after Kerim Alajbegovic‘s switch to Juventus.
Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali reveals he almost lost Kerim Alajbegovic to Chelsea
Chelsea wanted to sign Alajbegovic while he was still on Bayer Leverkusen’s books but were beaten to his signature by Juventus. The Italian club’s CEO Giovanni Carnevali has now revealed how worried he was about the winger moving to Stamford Bridge and some details about the Blues’ offer.
“He arrived for the right price,” Carnevali was quoted as saying by Tutto Juve, with Juventus paying €30m (£25.5m) for his signature. “Players like him are the ones we should focus on, players who could be worth up to eighty million in the future. We followed him closely and finally managed to get him, but players like him are difficult to acquire for an Italian club.
“We also risked losing him. If we hadn’t come up with something, we would have lost him in the end because Chelsea arrived with a much higher offer. We risked suffering the same fate as Inter with [Marco] Palestra. Unfortunately, we’re not competitive in the Champions League market.”
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There were several players Chelsea missed out on, with the club having also failed to land another former Leverkusen star, Granit Xhaka. Xhaka worked with Xabi Alonso in Germany and the Spaniard was keen on a reunion.
Unfortunately for Alonso, though, Sunderland were unwilling to play ball, while Xhaka was reluctant to force a move after a very successful season at the Stadium of Light.
Kerim Alajbegovic’s stats this season
Alajbegovic is getting playing opportunities at Juventus, and that is probably the main reason why he picked the Old Lady over Chelsea. That would not have been guaranteed at Stamford Bridge, especially following the arrival of Morgan Rogers.
He has featured in all but one of Juventus’ Serie A games this season, making three starts in total. Alajbegovic is yet to score or provide an assist in the Italian league, but he has managed to find the back of the net in the Europa League.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international will be happy with the start he has made at his new club, while some at Chelsea may have regrets about not signing him.
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