Chelsea know how it feels to be hit with that ‘panic buy’ tag.
The Premier League giants have been accused throughout the Todd Boehly era of spending like Augstus Gloop in a particularly well-stocked sweet shop, a truly remarkable number of additions leading to bemusement aplenty in boardrooms and on terraces.
When Manchester United made Jadon Sancho available, Chelsea just could not resist striking a deadline day deal.
That is despite the huge array of wide attackers already at the disposal of head coach Enzo Maresca, even if Raheem Sterling did leave for London rivals Arsenal.
Turkish giants Besiktas, meanwhile, have faced a few questions over their own transfer activity in recent days. Especially with regards to the deal that saw veteran Portuguese playmaker Joao Mario arrive from Benfica last week.
Huseyin Yucel, Besiktas’ vice-president, admits that one-time West Ham United loanee Mario was not the first-choice pick for head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
But he was the first alternative.
Chelsea sell Angelo Gabriel to Al-Nassr despite Besiktas interest
The Turkish Super Lig giants snapped up Mario after their number one target – Angelo Gabriel – completed a big-money move from Chelsea to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr.
“We recently brought down Joao Mario as a midfielder and winger. All our fans can rest assured. All transfers were our coach’s first or second choice,” Yucel tells Sporx, explaining that Besiktas were unable to match Al-Nassr’s £21 million bid.
“Our first choice was Angelo, but we couldn’t get him. (Al-Nassr) stepped in and bought him for 25 million euros.
“We had a quick meeting. Our coach said he wanted Mario (instead). That’s why we brought down Mario. Our fans can rest assured. We didn’t sign a panic transfer that our coach didn’t want. We’ve been saying this since we first arrived.”
Angelo Gabriel will go down as one of the more curious stories of the Clearlake era at Chelsea.
The two-time Champions League winners snapped up 19-year-old Gabriel – previously linked with Liverpool and Newcastle United – from Brazilian giants Santos as recently as July 2023.
But after a difficult loan spell at Strasbourg – the French club’s fans taking issue with a fleet of struggling youngsters shipped over from Stamford Bridge – Chelsea jumped at the chance to make a quick buck when Al-Nassr made the teenager their latest big-money acquisition.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the posterboy of the Saudi Pro League, though Liverpool legend Sadio Mane, former RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan, Portugal playmaker Otavio and Brazil goalkeeper Bento are also plying their trade at Al-Nassr these days.
Ben Chilwell could move to Turkey
Interestingly, while Besiktas missed out on Angelo Gabriel, they could still land another on the fringes of Chelsea’s first-team plans.
Ben Chilwell has suffered the same treatment as Sterling – bombed out of Enzo Maresca’s squad and forced to train with the proverbial ‘bomb squad’ – but could still be offered an escape route over the coming days.
HITC understands that Besiktas – as well as Istanbul neighbours Galatasaray and Fenerbahce – have held talks over a loan deal that would appeal to Chelsea.
The Turkish transfer window will remain open until September 13th.
“The situation with both of them (Chilwell and Sterling) is quite clear,” Maresca said in late-August, via Sky Sports’ official YouTube channel. “We have a big squad and for me it’s impossible give all of them minutes. If they are looking for minutes, probably it is better to leave.”
“With (Chilwell), I said that he’s a lovely guy. But he’s going to struggle. If you define this as brutal, it’s up to you.
“I am not working with 42 players. I’m working with 21 players. The other 15 or 20, they are training apart.”
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