Chelsea defender’s demands 'too high', Spain move collapses but 'open situation' remains

Trevoh Chalobah feels like he’s been linked with 20 clubs over the last year without a single one actually coming close to buying him.

In recent days, there’s been speculation that the £25m asking price Chelsea have put on the defender’s head is putting teams off. He’s talented, but he’s also been out for a year, and teams are cautious. But Chelsea don’t want to sanction a loan either.

Now it seems that there’s an additional problem blocking his exit – his wage demands.

Fabrizio Romano reports that the 24 year old has seen a potential move to Atletico Madrid fall at the first hurdle because of his salary at Chelsea and the academy star wanting that matched or improved on when he moves.

“Trevoh Chalobah was considered by Atletico Madrid, but he’s considered too expensive in terms of salary, they believe Chalobah’s salary is too high; Gabriel Paulista will cost way less,” Romano explained.

“We have to see what happens in the final 24 hours, it’s still an open situation for Chalobah.”

If that’s true, it makes Chelsea’s decision to ask such a high price for Chalobah even more questionable. It’s clearly limiting the number of teams interested (limiting them to zero, as it stands) and that’s looking like leading to another window spent in the “stock clearance” section without a buyer.