Chelsea made 11th-hour attempt to sign Liverpool’s latest signing

Chelsea made an 11th-hour attempt to sign Alexis Mac Allister before Liverpool confirmed the deal

As per the Times (h/t Metro), Chelsea made an 11th-hour attempt to sign Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister confirmed the deal.

Liverpool completed the signing of the Argentine international for a reported fee of around £35m. If that is indeed the actual price up front, the Reds have got a high-class player at a price below the market rate.

Making a late attempt to sign a player who had already given his word to work under Jurgen Klopp sounds like another naive move from the Chelsea hierarchy.

We know that the Blues are looking at signing central midfielders this summer, but this is not the way to do it. They have already been gazumped by Paris-Saint Germain for Manuel Ugarte.

The recruitment team has to narrow in on the shortlisted players before asking the sporting director to do the groundwork for a potential transfer. Attempting a late transfer hijack does not work unless the background work is done.

Chelsea are currently in the race to sign Moises Caicedo. They are in the race with Arsenal for the Ecuador star. Can the Gunners, who can offer Champions League football, attract the player more than what the Blues can do?

Moreover, what else needs to be done to bolster the squad in all departments? Does Mauricio Pochettino and Co. have the blueprint ready? We hope it is.

Apart from signing a midfielder or two, Chelsea need to sign a striker and a goalkeeper. With no European football, can they attract the absolute elite players?

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea to transfer-list Juventus target Christian Pulisic for the third window in a row
• Real Madrid have withdrawn from signing Chelsea star Kai Havertz
• Fabrizio Romano claims Manchester United will make first bid for Mason Mount despite Chelsea’s clear stance on his price tag

The questions are aplenty and the answers are yet to arrive. A lot of the summer is still left, but early signs are not promising.