Transfer Centre

Montpellier HSC president Louis Nicollin: 'Chelsea must improve bid for Elye Wahi'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 04 August 2023

Montpellier president: 'Chelsea must improve bid for Wahi'

Montpellier HSC president Louis Nicollin says that Chelsea must increase their offer for Elye Wahi to stand a chance of signing him this summer.

Montpellier HSC president Louis Nicollin has said that Chelsea must increase their offer for Elye Wahi in order to stand a chance of signing the forward this summer.

The 20-year-old is recently believed to have been the subject of a £24m offer from the Premier League giants, which was quickly turned down by his French club.

Wahi scored 19 goals and registered six assists in 33 Ligue 1 appearances last season, and it is understood that Chelsea want to sign him this summer before loaning him to their partner club Strasbourg for the new campaign.

Nicollin has confirmed that his side are open to selling the forward during the current window, and he revealed that Tottenham Hotspur and Eintracht Frankfurt have also shown an interest in his services.

"There are proposals but we are waiting for more proposals for Elye Wahi. It's true that we have only had one official offer for the moment, from Chelsea, Monday or last Tuesday," Nicollin told RMC Sport.

Chelsea's new manager Mauricio Pochettino during the press conference on July 7, 2023 © Reuters

"We replied that we thanked them but that it was not a proposal that corresponded to us, so we are waiting. This weekend, I had the head of recruiting from Tottenham, who is interested, but he had other things last weekend, so I think it will start to move.

"There is [Eintracht] Frankfurt. It is true that I think that the game of musical chairs will automatically change if [Randal] Kolo Muani leaves Frankfurt, if Harry Kane leaves Tottenham.

"There is no deadline. We are August 3rd. We agreed on an exit. We'll think about it if the league starts and maybe we'll put a deadline. There's a month left of the transfer window. We've said certain things to each other.

"He's training, we'll see with him. If there's nothing come the 20th or the 25th of August, we aren't more stupid than anyone else. We'll talk. He'll be available for the first team."

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino on August 3, 2023 © Reuters

Wahi has been with Montpellier since 2018, representing their first team on 91 occasions in all competitions, scoring 32 goals and registering nine assists in the process.

Chelsea, who will not play any European football during the 2023-24 campaign, have signed Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Angelo Gabriel and Diego Moreira during a busy window.

There have also been a host of notable departures at the club, with Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, N'Golo Kante, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Baba Rahman all moving on.

Mauricio Pochettino's side rounded off their preparations for the new campaign with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, and they are now working towards their 2023-24 Premier League opener at home to Liverpool on August 13.