Bologna and AC Milan chase striker transfer Chelsea have put on “standby” | OneFootball

Not long ago Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was odds on to join Chelsea. Now things feel a lot more distant, and reporting from Guillermo Arango in Duran’s home country of Colombia has perhaps revealed why.

He explained that while the deal is not definitively off, and all the hard work done getting it this far can be (more of less) resumed in the future, for now the Blues are looking elsewhere:

“The transfer of Jhon Durán to Chelsea is on “standby”. Despite the agreement between clubs, the new coach Enzo Maresca wants a forward with other characteristics and for now the signing of the Colombian who has offers from other clubs (AC Milan, Bologna) is stopped.”

It’s a risky move to hold out for a better option, especially given the other teams being mentioned as interested. If either Milan or Bologna really start making progress towards signing Duran, one would think that Chelsea would have to quickly make some decisions about whether there is actually a better option out there for them. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good, as they say.

A new angle on the sporting structure

Also notable in this story is the aspect about Enzo Maresca’s influence in stopping the deal. It seemed like the idea of getting rid of Mauricio Pochettino was that he wanted too much of a say in the squad building, but if this story is true then it seems like Maresca has certainly retained a decent say in what’s going on.

Perhaps it’s a combination of different factors – it would be more accurate to say that Maresca has been appointed because he plays a style that Chelsea want to play, and accordingly they want players who fit that style, rather than making it seems like it’s an executive decision from Maresca.