Chelsea could stop Arsenal from signing a £68 million-rated defensive target next summer if Todd Boehly's reported 'masterplan' goes through.
A consortium co-led by Boehly took over Chelsea upon the end of the 2021/22 season, and quickly set about spending eye-watering amounts of money on new players at Stamford Bridge.
The new ownership also had to pay out compensation to Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, with both managers sacked by the club at different stages of last season.
Away from Chelsea, meanwhile, Boehly and co have taken an interest to other European clubs.BlueCo - the name of the investment vehicle they used to purchase the Blues last year - acquired a majority stake in Ligue 1 side Strasbourg earlier in 2023 despite protests from the French club's supporters. The club is used as a destination for younger players.
According to The Telegraph, Boehly and Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali have 'serious plans' to take a minority stake in Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, thus expanding BlueCo's multi-club ownership plans.
If an agreement is reached between the two clubs, Chelsea could prevent Arsenal from signing one of their reported key transfer targets.According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal held significant interest in Sporting wonderkid Ousmane Diomande this summer as they looked to bolster their defence.Diomande, an Ivory Coast international, was said to be one of manager Mikel Arteta's options to replace the injured Jurrien Timber.
CaughtOffside claim he could be worth as much as £68 million, and Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness) report that Arsenal sporting director Edu has made a 'promise' to return to the negotiating table over Diomande in January.
If the Chelsea-Sporting deal goes through, it could put a key stumbling block in the way of any move.
But The Telegraph report, at this current stage, there is an 'acceptance' that the Sporting deal needs to be handled 'a lot more sensitively than the usual acquisition of an archetypal smaller European club desperate for investment'.
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