Chelsea have missed out on a deal for long-time target Xavi Simons, with Tottenham hijacking their RB Leipzig deal in a blow for Enzo Maresca.
At one stage, it seemed like only a matter of time before BlueCo would put pen to paper on a deal for the Dutchman.
Xavi-Simons-Chelsea
Some reports suggested that Chelsea had reached a full agreement for Simons, but that information turned out to be wide of the mark, with Simons forced to wait for weeks after agreeing personal terms with Maresca's side.
Chelsea's pursuit of the 22-year-old, who was a product of Barcelona's famed La Masia academy before switching to PSG in his youth, was hampered by their need to sell players and make room in their squad.
|Chelsea's summer transfers|
|Incoming|Outgoing|
|---|
|Joao Pedro|Noni Madueke|
|Jamie Gittens|João Félix|
|Jorrel Hato|Djordje Petrovic|
|Liam Delap|Lesley Ugochukwu|
|Dario Essugo|Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall|
|Mamadou Sarr|Renato Veiga|
|Estevao|Armando Broja|
|Kendry Paez|Carney Chukwuemeka|
||Mathis Amougou|
||Basir Humphreys|
||Kepa Arrizabalaga|
||Marcus Bettinelli|
||Christopher Nkunku|
Money was no object, considering the Blues have done extremely well in terms of net spend - raising over £300 million in player sales to combat around £280 million spent on transfers.
However, their pact with UEFA after being fined for breaching FFP dictates that Chelsea must sell players from their Conference League squad last season to ensure they can register new signings for the Champions League this term.
While Chelsea were attempting to agree exit deals for the likes of Christopher Nkunku (who's now joined AC Milan) and Nicolas Jackson, Simons was left in limbo, and this gave Tottenham an opportunity to pounce.
Thomas Frank's side were bereft of playmakers, following James Maddison's ACL rupture and a knee injury to Dejan Kulusevski earlier this year, with Spurs also missing out on Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White this window in quite embarrassing fashion.
Chelsea's London rivals needed to make a statement of intent, and have now done so by stealing Simons from under BlueCo's nose.
Spurs-Xavi-Simons
Following overnight talks, Tottenham reached an agreement to sign the ex-PSG sensation for £52 million, with Simons completing his medical on Thursday and signing a potential seven-year contract.
How Chelsea feel as Tottenham hijack their deal for Xavi Simons
As per journalist Simon Phillips, backing up information from another source on his live blog [Thursday, 14:22pm), Chelsea have been left "unhappy" by these developments and thought they already had a verbal agreement with Leipzig.
xavi-simons-chelsea-premier-league
Leipzig were said to have moved the goalposts, which allowed Spurs to swoop in and strike a deal for the Netherlands international despite lengthy negotiations with Chelsea.
Now, with just days until the deadline, Chelsea are forced to go back to square one in pursuit of a new playmaker, with Barcelona's Fermin Lopez potentially set to take centre-stage.
Chelsea are prepared to bid around £50 million for Lopez, according to reports in Spain, and it is believed that the west Londoners are also ready to nearly triple the player's salary by offering him a contract worth £250,000-per-week (Sport).
Maresca has personally phoned the 22-year-old as well (Sport), so this may definitely be one to keep an eye on.