Revealed: The 'mystery player' who Chelsea had a €75m bid rejected for

Updated: 2 Sept 2026 11:30 BST | 4 min read

Matthew Judge | Editor

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Chelsea had a €75.8million (£65m) for James Garner rejected by Everton on deadline day, according to transfer insider El Bobble.

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El Bobble, a trusted source for transfer-related news concerning Everton, understands the offer arrived late on Tuesday evening.

Chelsea were searching for a midfielder to replace Enzo Fernandez ahead of his move to Manchester City for a joint British record fee of €145m (£125m).

However, the Toffees turned down the bid for Garner, who is believed to be happy at the club after signing a new contract through to 2030 in January.

Garner, 25, was one of the best players in England last season, recording two goals and seven assists in the Premier League.

The Telegraph’s Matt Law reported earlier on Tuesday that Chelsea were chasing an unidentified “mystery player” from the Premier League.

Chelsea furious as Monaco abort Camara deal

Xabi Alonso’s side were on the verge of completing a deal to sign Senegal midfielder Lamine Camara, only for Monaco to pull the plug late on.

Monaco needed to make a major sale and were considering selling Camara and also Folarin Balogun, who - ironically - was wanted by Everton.

The Ligue 1 side decided to proceed with the proposed sale of Balogun over Camara - to the despair of the latter and also Chelsea.

Camara, 22, had completed a medical with Chelsea while Balogun, 25, had failed one with Everton, meaning the situation had become a farce.

In a chaotic end to the episode, United States striker Balogun decided against signing for Everton after having a late change of heart.

And so Monaco failed to make their crucial sale, Camara missed out on a dream move and Chelsea and Everton were both left empty-handed.

Chelsea still enjoyed fantastic transfer window - unlike Everton

While Chelsea missed out on Camara, the club still enjoyed a successful transfer window after making a profit on their player trading.

The Blues made €447.8m (£383.8m) in sales this summer, with that figure set to rise once add-ons, loan fees and sell-on clauses are accounted for in the future.

Chelsea also spent €406.7m (£348.6m) on new players, with the €137m (£117m) signing of England international Morgan Rogers their biggest outlay.

Everton meanwhile endured a nightmare transfer window amid huge concern among supporters over the club's recruitment strategy.

The Merseysiders failed to sign Balogun and sold star attacker lliman Ndiaye to Man City, as well as Tim Iroegbunam and Beto to Hull City and Fiorentina respectively.

David Moyes’ side also ended up addressing their right-back crisis by signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles - a target dating back five years - from French club Lyon.

Everton currently have one senior striker (Thierno Barry) and one senior left-back (Vitalii Mykolenko) on their books until the transfer market re-opens in January.