Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea “need to add players” after having an opening offer rejected for Montpellier striker Elye Wahi.
Chelsea and Arsenal are both vying for Wahi’s signature, though the latter will surely look to sell a striker before making a bid for the 20-year-old.
It was reported on Wednesday that the Blues had made an offer in the region of €25million (£21.4million) to sign the player.
Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin told local newspaper Midi Libre that “the amount offered didn’t meet our expectations”.
L’Equipe follow up this report by claiming Nicollin is ‘open’ to selling Wahi for the right price.
The French newspaper says Chelsea’s ‘initial offer’ worth €27.5m (£23.5m) without bonuses was rejected.
Montpellier remain ‘open to negotiation’ with Wahi hoping to join the Londoners ‘quickly’, though they will need to ‘increase their offer’.
While Chelsea are still in the market for a striker after signing Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal, Pochettino is in dire need of midfield recruits.
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Following his side’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, Pochettino told reporters: “We need to add players, as maybe in another position we miss some players and in that position we have four and sometimes the squad is unbalanced.
“We need to build a balanced squad to have the possibility to compete for a position, but not have players who are going to be the third or fourth option to play.”
While he needs a few more players, Pochettino admits several of his current crop is still up for sale.
“First of all I think we need to define the squad as I think we are 29 players here and it is massive,” he continued. “At the moment the dynamic is very good, really good guys and they are sharing the time together.
“It is difficult because sometimes in every game three, four, five players cannot play and the mood is difficult.
“It is about creating a squad with good balance and people who have the opportunity to play and can compete for their place. That is a big job for us in the transfer window to build a good relationship.
“If players are not happy because they believe they are not going to play, we are going to find a solution with the club and fix the situation.
“What we cannot have is a massive squad, players not be involved and then it’s going to create a mess in the squad.
“Maybe less is more and more is less, it is not mathematic. That is why I need to make clear we don’t need a big squad. We need 22, 23, 24 players with some younger and that’s it.
“I am so sorry because maybe the decision will be tough but we need to build a good and a balanced team who want to compete for things.”
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