Chelsea have made contact over Andreas Schjelderup, but the move has stalled fast. The Benfica winger wants Champions League football, and Chelsea are outside the European places after last season’s disappointing campaign.
Benfica ask around £34.4million
Schjelderup is not short on numbers. He delivered ten goals and seven assists in 43 appearances for Benfica last season, and Benfica would reportedly demand around £34.4million if a deal moved forward.
He also has a £86m release clause in his contract, so Chelsea would be working from a price well below that level if talks ever opened properly. The contact so far has only been to enquire about the conditions of a transfer.
Champions League blocks Chelsea
The obstacle is simple. Schjelderup wants to play in the Champions League, and Chelsea cannot offer that right now. That preference has slowed progress enough to make the chase look far less straightforward than a normal winger search.
Tottenham and Liverpool have also been linked with him, but the same demand could narrow that field as well. A club without Champions League football starts behind before negotiations even reach the fee.
Transfer window pressure
Chelsea still look to be moving on other fronts. The club look to have wrapped up a move for Atalanta ace Marco Palestra, while Marc Cucurella has left the club to join Real Madrid and Enzo Fernandez may be set to leave after heavy links with a move to Real Madrid.
That leaves Schjelderup as a cleaner test of Chelsea’s pull in the market. Benfica know what they want, Chelsea know the condition that matters most, and the winger’s Champions League demand is the part that now controls the pace of the deal.
