Chelsea get 'red alert' warning over €50m target

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Chelsea remain interested in signing PSG wonderkid Ibrahim Mbaye, but there appear to be some serious behind-the-scenes issues.

The 18-year-old has once again become the subject of intense transfer speculation. Mbaye was linked with an exit from PSG in January, but Premier League interest from clubs like Aston Villa and Chelsea was laughed off by the Parisians.

Well aware of the teenager's potential, the Ligue 1 champions had no interest in entertaining offers for him. However, the situation appears to have drastically changed in recent months.

Current ETV

Ibrahim Mbaye

F, AM (R)

PSG

Ibrahim Mbaye

F, AM (R)

PSG

€32.2M

ETV Range

€29M - €35.4M

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Mbaye has only made 11 appearances this calendar year. The Senegal international struggled to reintegrate into the PSG first team after returning from the African Cup of Nations, and his performance levels dropped.

According to RMC, numerous Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, are still interested in striking a deal for the right-winger, with PSG hoping to receive a fee in excess of €50 million.

Chelsea given Mbaye warning

However, Chelsea and Mbaye's other suitors have been given a strong warning by Romain Molina. All is not well in the player's camp, with the investigative journalist accusing the player's parents of being a poor influence on the teenager.

Molina alleges that Mbaye's relationship with PSG has seriously deteriorated in recent months. The player's ego, fuelled by his parents, has led to several run-ins with club bosses and manager Luis Enrique.

"My son is Lamine Yamal. He’s the best; he’s better than Ousmane Dembele. Why isn’t he playing?" Molina quotes Mbaye's father as saying at one point. Luis Campos, PSG's chief advisor, supposedly believes that Mbaye's father is behind several media leaks.

This, combined with what Molina describes as a poor physical condition due to an unhealthy diet, is the reason why Mbaye has struggled for minutes at PSG and why the club are willing to consider offers for him.

Mbaye has been represented by three different parties over the past 12 months, including his parents, which has complicated a potential transfer. The 18-year-old's affairs are now supposedly handled by superagent Jorge Mendes, but the two have never actually spoken to each other.

And it was Mendes who, Molina alleges, has prevented Mbaye from joining Aston Villa this summer, with the Portuguese preferring to send Chelsea outcast Alejandro Garnacho to Birmingham instead.

As evidence, Molina posted a photograph, ostensibly from January, of Mbaye's parents posing with an Aston Villa kit, seemingly taken at the club's offices. He then shared another picture of his parents receiving a gift bag from Chelsea.

This certainly lends credence to the reporting from January that the two clubs were interested in signing him. What all of this means for this current summer window remains to be seen, but Molina has certainly given Chelsea a "red alert" warning.