Chelsea saw a £90million bid for Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak rejected before they signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world-record fee from Athletic Bilbao, according to The Times.
The newspaper report that the Blues looked to trigger Oblak’s release clause of £90million (€100million) as they hunted for a replacement for Thibaut Courtois.
The Times claim that the key reason the Slovenia international turned down a move to Stamford Bridge was his preference to remain with Atletico and play in the Champions League once again this season.
It is said that Atletico are now ready to reward the 25-year-old stopper with a lucrative new deal, which will also increase his release clause to an incredible £223million (€250million).
OPINION
Triggering Oblak’s release clause and signing him in the closing days of the window would have been a stunning move from Chelsea, and it is in many ways a shame that it did not come off. Oblak is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now, and has rightly been targeted by several Premier League clubs in the past. However, it seems as though Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League this season was the nail in the coffin for their bid, and they ended up with Arrizabalaga instead. This is not to say they did not end up with a brilliant young goalkeeper, but merely that Oblak is quite clearly further on in his development than the young Spaniard. That is to be expected considering he is two years senior, but it may mean that Arrizabalaga takes more time to settle, and Chelsea fans must be forgiving should the 23-year-old make a couple of early mistakes.