A veto that blew up a 58 million transfer
The deal was all but done. Chelsea and AS Roma had agreed a fee in the region of 58 million euros for Manu Koné, as part of a wider Blues push worth around 60 million. The French midfielder had one foot in the Premier League.
Gian Piero Gasperini wasn’t having it. Not even close. According to La Repubblica, the Roma boss went as far as threatening to quit if his player was sold. The move collapsed in the final hours of the window.
Koné stays in Rome.
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A coach with real clout
Few managers block a sale at that kind of price. Fewer still do it at an Italian club, where the accountants usually set the timetable for departures. That Gasperini got his way says plenty about where the power sits inside the Roma hierarchy right now.
The context helps explain the hard line. Roma are back in the Champions League and openly talking up a title challenge. Losing a midfielder of Koné’s profile days before the European campaign began would have left the side badly exposed, with no chance of replacing him like for like once the market shut.
He picked his squad over the money. It’s a gamble, and he isn’t hiding from it.
Chelsea come away empty-handed
For the London club, the failure stings more than it first appears. Koné had been lined up as the answer to the departure of Enzo Fernandez, who has gone to Manchester City. Chelsea now have a hole in midfield and no market left to raid.
Then there is the player. Having a move blocked by your own coach, after the clubs had already shaken hands, rarely leaves a dressing room untouched. Gasperini staked his job on keeping him. Now he has to give him the minutes.
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