Mauricio Pochettino gives green light for 'next Kylian Mbappe' transfer as Chelsea submit bid

Chelsea have taken one step closer to completing the signing of Elye Wahi from Montpellier after submitting a €25million (£21.4m) bid. The Blues have been in talks to sign the talented youngster for a number of weeks with those talks reaching an advanced stage this past weekend.

Eight new signings have already been made by the Blues so far this summer and Wahi could soon become the ninth with Chelsea pushing to complete the transfer amid interest from Atletico Madrid and Arsenal. The Spanish giants reportedly tabled a player swap deal offer to Montpellier but saw it rejected with Wahi's current club demanding a fee to sanction an exit.

Chelsea have now met that condition according to French journalist Mohamed Toubache-Ter, via GFNF, by tabling a €25million (£21.4million) offer. Wahi received rave reviews following a superb 2022/23 season in Ligue 1 where he scored 19 goals from 33 appearances.

A fantastic campaign in the French top-flight also saw the France Under-21 international become one of only two players in the last 40 years to have have scored 20 goals in Ligue 1 as a teenager – the other being Kylian Mbappe.

Given Wahi's talent, Montpellier have deemed him to be worth at least €35million which means Chelsea's opening offer falls short of their asking price.

While that bid being rebuffed won't be ideal, it is a good starting point for negotiations to continue, however there may be some complications reaching an agreement on the side of Wahi. If Wahi does make the move to Stamford Bridge, from Chelsea's perspective the plan is clear with a loan move straight back to France to come at Strasbourg.

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However, as per FootMercato,