Revealed: Chelsea Had Deadline-Day Approach For Versatile Midfielder Turned Down By Premier League Club | OneFootball

A busy deadline day for Chelsea ended in no new midfielder after Enzo Fernandez's exit.

Chelsea made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Everton midfielder James Garner on Tuesday’s summer transfer deadline day.

The rumours were that Chelsea were after three midfielders on the last day of the summer window, AS Roma’s Manu Kone, AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara, and a “mystery” Premier League player.

According to talkSPORT, that mystery player was Everton's Garner.

Garner is said to have piqued the interest of Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso due to his ability to play both in midfield and at right-back. Chelsea were even reported to be willing to fork out up to £65 million to secure the 25-year-old’s signature.

Having agreed a £125m deal with Manchester City for the sale of Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea would have had the spending power to do so. Unfortunately, Everton were unwilling to entertain any offers for such a key player late in the window.

Garner also signed a new extension with the Toffees in January this year that ties him to the club until the summer of 2030, so they are under no pressure to cash in on the versatile midfielder.

The England international finished last season with three goals and seven assists from 41 appearances for Everton across all competitions. He also featured in each of Everton’s three games so far this season.

Garner mostly plays as a number six rather than a number eight. He also spent considerable minutes at left-back and right-back last season. Given his role as Everton’s passing hub in the middle, there is an argument that he would have made a fine replacement for Fernandez.

For the same reasons, Everton were understandably against the idea of losing such a key midfield piece.

In the end, out of the three midfield targets, Chelsea were closest to signing Camara.

The Blues had agreed a €55m (£47m) deal with Monaco for the Senegal international, before the Ligue 1 side decided to pull the plug at the last minute. It left Chelsea with no time to redraw their plans to replace Fernandez.

With Dario Essugo also leaving Stamford Bridge to spend a season-long loan at sister club RC Strasbourg, Chelsea are left with four natural central midfield options in Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, and summer signings Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson. Reece James and Malo Gusto, who are primarily right-backs, can also play in midfield if needed.

It remains unclear whether Chelsea would re-enter negotiations to sign any of the aforementioned midfielders in January or next summer, but the club will have plenty of time to re-assess their shortlist.