Chelsea poised to miss out on £88m target to Spurs or Arsenal – report

Chelsea could be set to miss out on one of their long-term transfer targets to a London Premier League rival.

The Blues bolstered their attack in the summer, bringing in Joao Pedro and Liam Delap at centre-forward for a combined £90m from Brighton and Ipswich Town respectively.

However, it appears that they are still keeping tabs on striker options, and recent reports have claimed that not only could they be forced to look elsewhere, but direct rivals Spurs and Arsenal could be the beneficiaries of Chelsea’s inability to get a particular deal over the line.

With Delap getting just his second goal in Chelsea colours with his strike against Barcelona and Joao Pedro striking just four times in the league ahead of their crunch clash with Arsenal in late November, it could be argued that the pair have been found wanting in front of goal thus far.

Therefore, perhaps keeping an eye on potential recruits in this area isn’t the craziest idea – though it may hurt to lose out on a target to their rivals, particularly someone they were once moments from signing.

Chelsea most recently approached Samu Aghehowa in the summer of 2024 with a view to signing the striker from Atletico Madrid.

Negotiations became pretty advanced, with talks over a seven-year deal close to reaching a positive conclusion.

The exact reasons why the move collapsed range from a lack of respect in regard to the youngster’s image rights to an unsatisfactory medical.

Ultimately, Aghehowa stayed put before sealing a switch to Porto soon after.

According to CaughtOffside, the Spain striker is still on Chelsea’s transfer radar, but it is now London rivals Spurs and Arsenal who lead the race for his signature.

Both north London outfits are in need of a striker themselves, with Thomas Frank’s Lilywhites attackers largely toothless in front of goal, while Mikel Arteta has all three of his main striking options on the treatment table.

It seems Spurs – thought to be slight frontrunners at this stage – could also be in line for a discount on the 21-year-old, with Porto said to be willing to negotiate a deal for lower than his €100m (£88m) release clause by asking for around €90m (£79m) instead.

Securing Aghehowa’s services could therefore be something of a double coup for Frank’s side, by welcoming an exciting addition to their frontline while stealing a march on two of their fiercest rivals in one fell swoop.

Graduated in Sport Journalism (BA) with first-class honours from the University of Brighton and has since had bylines in The Times, sports business publication SportsPro, Football FanCast and The Gooner fanzine.