Chelsea might be one of several clubs looking on with envy as Liverpool close in on a deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool could conclude a deal to sign Florian Wirtz this week, a player Chelsea won’t be looking forward to facing in the Premier League.
Of course, Enzo Maresca’s side are already making early moves of their own, hence Liam Delap’s Chelsea debut against LAFC in the Club World Cup.
But as Chelsea plan further moves in the transfer market, Wirtz’s move to Liverpool does actually highlight a big mistake the Blues made this time last year.
Before he joined Bayern Munich last summer, Chelsea were in talks to sign Michael Olise from Crystal Palace.
Chelsea were in talks to sign Michael Olise who just outperformed Florian Wirtz
In the Bundesliga last season, Michael Olise was the only player to register more assists than Wirtz.
Moving across from the Premier League, Olise enjoyed a stunning debut season in Germany, and Chelsea should have some regrets, in fact, Maresca should be furious on reflection that a deal was let slip away.
Michael Olise celebrates a goal for Bayern Munich.
Photo by Marcel Engelbrecht – firo sportphoto/Getty Images
READ MORE: How much Chelsea have received after Club World Cup win against Los Angeles, it is hard to believe
Like other top English clubs, Chelsea had the option to buy Olise for just £50m, a player who was arguably better than Wirtz last season.
And were Chelsea to try and sign a player of his calibre right now, he’d probably cost more than the £117m Liverpool could pay to sign Wirtz from Leverkusen.
Olise scored more goals than Wirtz, registered more assists, and Chelsea might be feeling slightly red-faced upon reflection.
Games Minutes Goals Assists
Florian Wirtz 31 2,351 10 12
Michael Olise 34 2,334 12 15
Wirtz and Olise compared across the 2024/25 Bundesliga season
In the same summer, Chelsea ended up recruiting Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers, who is ending up looking like a stellar acquisition himself.
But in terms of world-class potential, signing Olise would have been the better move.
Have Chelsea already repeated their Olise mistake this summer?
Of course, when it comes to signing the wrong player, albeit one who is still very talented, Chelsea might have already repeated that mistake with their Delap acquisition.
Understandably, Chelsea fans seem very happy with the deal for Delap — he cost a very reasonable fee, he fits stylistically and he’s got a lot of potential.
However, with The Athletic now reporting that Chelsea have ended their interest in Benjamin Sesko as a result, therefore, have the Blues let another gem slip away?
Chelsea were keen to sign Sesko, seemingly recognising his world-class potential.
And perhaps in a year’s time, Chelsea might be wondering if Sesko was the better choice over Delap, even if both strikers could end up succeeding at their new clubs — presuming the former does leave RB Leipzig.