Chelsea reportedly vetoed Wolverhampton Wanderers’ deal for Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra.
Chelsea allegedly blocked Strasbourg youth Habib Diarra from joining Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over as owners in May 2022, the Blues have gone on an unparalleled spending spree.
Surprisingly, nearly £1 billion has been spent across three transfer windows, with the majority of the purchases being prospects or players in their early twenties who have already made an impact.
However, while committing to large outlays on players, Boehly and Clearlake have also been looking for other teams to buy, with a deal for Strasbourg finalised earlier this summer.
Naturally, a Chelsea kid, Angelo Gabriel, has been allowed to join the French club; the surprise is that others have not followed.
Patrick Vieira has taken over as manager of Strasbourg, and the former Crystal Palace manager is entrusted with establishing Le Racing as a top-half Ligue 1 team and developing the young players at his disposal.
Wolves expressed interest in one of those prospects in the last days of the previous transfer window, saying they were willing to complete a deal for Diarra.
According to Football Insider, the deal did not take place because BlueCo – Strasbourg’s owners, a company managed by Boehly and Clearlake – see Diarra as a future Chelsea acquisition.
This season, the 19-year-old has made three starts, one as a central midfielder and the other two on the right side.
Diarra also made 29 appearances in the top flight season 2022-23, scoring three goals and providing three assists from a variety of positions.
BlueCo are not in a haste to part ways with a starlet who they regard as one of the club’s best talents, given he has a contract until 2027.
As things stand, Diarra essentially keeps Chelsea loanee Angelo out of the lineup, with the 18-year-old Brazilian limited to three substitute appearances.
Diarra earned his France Under-21 debut earlier this week, coming in as a substitute against Denmark.
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