Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak rejected Chelsea this summer | OneFootball

Chelsea’s search for a Thibaut Courtois replacement eventually saw them land Kepa for a world-record fee.

But according to a new report, the Blues in fact first went to Atlético Madrid in their bid to sign a top level goalkeeper.

The Sunday Times have revealed that the west London club made a bid before deadline day for Jan Oblak worth €100m.

Seeing as that is the Slovenian’s release clause, the Spanish giants could do nothing but accept the fee and bite their finger nails in the hope that the 25-year-old would stay.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The story claims that Oblak, after speaking with Chelsea, rejected their contract offer out of hand in order to remain with Diego Simeone’s side.

Good news for Altéti right now, but the club are still worried that another team could poach their star shot-stopper.

What looked like a high release clause when Oblak signed his deal 12 months ago, is now firmly within the reach of plenty of Europe’s top teams.

As such, the Wanda Metropilitano outfit are hoping to sit down with the goalkeeper this month and get him to sign another contract with a vastly inflated clause in the hope of warding off any further interest.