Chelsea transfer news: Blues 'almost hijacked' deal for summer Bayer Leverkusen signing

Chelsea reportedly held an interest in signing Eliesse Ben Seghir during the summer transfer window.

Before and after their Club World Cup triumph, Chelsea were able to make an array of signings while also complying with UEFA's financial regulations, a necessity given a recent rule breach.

Enzo Maresca now has a well-populated squad at his disposal as the Blues attempt to juggle their return to the Champions League with a Premier League title bid.

However, according to Foot Mercato, Chelsea gave serious consideration to trying to sign a player who eventually found his way to Bayer Leverkusen.

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Leverkusen beat Chelsea to Ben Seghir

The report claims that Chelsea made an attempt to hijack Leverkusen's efforts to secure the signature of Ben Seghir.

With 15 goals and eight assists from 85 appearances in a Monaco shirt, the Morocco international has emerged as one of his nation's best players.

A deal to move to Leverkusen was concluded on August 31, yet it is alleged that Chelsea attempted to beat the Bundesliga giants in the hours beforehand.

If that was correct, that was Chelsea seemingly reacting to Liam Delap's hamstring injury or the possibility of Tyrique George departing for Fulham.

Ben Seghir is said to have given serious consideration to making the switch to Stamford Bridge before completing a move to the BayArena for a fee in the region of £26m.

Chelsea may have been required to make another significant sale in order to afford that particular transfer fee.

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Have Chelsea missed out?

With Ben Seghir capable of being deployed in a number of positions which includes centre-forward, there is an argument that Chelsea have missed out to a certain extent.

That said, it appears that Chelsea were merely reacting to an injury and a market opportunity, rather than having a prolonged interest in the 20-year-old.

The arrivals of Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte, as well as the recall of Marc Guiu, means that Maresca is certainly not short of options in the final third.