Chelsea reportedly prevented Strasbourg youngster Habib Diarra from signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer.
The Blues have embarked on an unprecedented spending spree since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital became the new owners in May 2022.
Remarkably, over £1bn has been spent across three transfer windows, with the majority of the acquisitions being prospects or players who are in their early twenties and have already made notable impressions.
However, at the same time as committing to vast outlays on players, Boehly and Clearlake have also been searching for other teams to buy and a deal was completed for Strasbourg earlier in the summer.
Naturally, a Chelsea youngster has been allowed to move to the French outfit in Angelo Gabriel, and the surprise is that more did not follow.
© Reuters
Strasbourg are now managed by Patrick Vieira and the former Crystal Palace boss is tasked with establishing Le Racing as a top-half club in Ligue 1 and developing the young players at his disposal.
In the final days of the most recent transfer window, Wolves showed an interest in one of those prospects, being prepared to agree a deal for Diarra.
According to Football Insider, a transfer did not materialise because BlueCo - Strasbourg's owners who are a consortium led by Boehly and Clearlake - view Diarra as a potential Chelsea addition in the future.
The 19-year-old has made three starts this campaign, one of them coming in central midfielder and the other two on the right flank.
© Reuters
Diarra also made as many as 29 appearances in the top flight during 2022-23, contributing three goals and three assists from a range of different positions.
Possessing a contract until 2027, BlueCo are in no rush to part ways with a starlet who they view as one of the club's top talents.
As it stands, Diarra is effectively keeping Chelsea loanee Angelo out of the team, the 18-year-old Brazilian being restricted to three substitute outings.
Earlier this week, Diarra came on as a substitute against Denmark as he made his debut for France Under-21s.
Darren Plant
