Chelsea cancel sister club transfer over scrutiny fears – source

Chelsea decided at the last minute to cancel the transfer of their forward Deivid Washington to sister club Strasbourg after concerns were raised about the move, sources told ESPN.

Everything was agreed between the two clubs for the 19-year-old Brazilian to move for an initial fee of €21 million ($23.2m), with a potential €3m in bonuses.

The player, who joined Chelsea last summer for €16m but made only three appearances with the first team, was ready to do his medical in London before travelling to France.

But Chelsea called it off after the Premier League and FIFA raised concerns over the transfer between the two clubs owned by BlueCo, sources said.

A similar move made earlier in the summer — Diego Moreira from Chelsea to Strasbourg for €9m — is already under review by FIFA/ the Premier League according to sources.

Chelsea, who needed to raise €20 million in their accounts, were eager for the transfer to happen despite Strasbourg not being in the market for a forward and not being keen on Washington, who would have been their record signing, sources said.

In the end, Chelsea decided to cancel the deal and the former Santos player will stay in Enzo Maresca’s squad at least until January 2025.

BlueCo, a consortium led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, became majority shareholders of French club Strasbourg last year.