Chelsea's £35m transfer fell through after highly-rated goal machine 'felt disrespected'

Chelsea's search for a new striker has shown no signs of letting up a year after their move for Spain international Samu Omorodion collapsed due to a contractual disagreement.

The Blues showed interest in the talented youngster after his promising 2023/24 season at Deportivo Alaves, where he was on loan from Atletico Madrid.

The west London side seemed set to secure Omorodion's services after agreeing a £34.5million deal with his parent club. But the 21-year-old's transfer abruptly fell through, with The Athletic attributing the breakdown to a major disagreement over personal terms.

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Omorodion was expected to pen a seven-year contract with an additional 12-month option at Stamford Bridge. El Chiringuito reported that the sticking point was Chelsea's desire to buy 50 per cent of Omorodion's image rights.

The striker is said to have felt that the club showed him a lack of respect with their proposal, which led him to halt any further negotiations. Then only 20 years old, he had just netted eight goals for Alaves that season and clinched Olympic gold for Spain in Paris.

Just weeks after his Premier League move failed to materialise, in August 2024, Omorodion decided to sign a five-year contract with Porto for a bargain transfer fee of £12.7m.

Atletico retained a 50 per cent sell-on clause as part of the Porto deal. The Portuguese club, meanwhile, said they had the option to reduce that by a further 15 per cent for another €5m by July 2025, and the same again a year later.

Chelsea have since been left to rue the missed transfer opportunity as the player went on to net an impressive 27 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions this season for Porto, while their own lack of a clinical striker remains glaringly obvious.

However, if they decide to reignite their interest in him in the future, they will have to fork out an astronomical fee, with Omorodion reportedly having a €100m release clause (£85m) at Porto.

For now, it appears that the Blues have redirected their attention elsewhere this summer. They are currently competing with Newcastle for the signature of Joao Pedro, whose price tag significantly exceeds Omorodion's transfer value from last year.

Chelsea have held initial discussions with Brighton & Hove Albion over signing the 23-year-old Pedro, though it's not clear at this stage whether they are the mystery team that's lodged a bid.

It remains to be seen whether they can strike a deal for the forward, who would bring versatility to their attacking options. Their interest could also be tied to the future of Christopher Nkunku, who Chelsea, along with Nicolas Jackson, are not confident enough to head into next season with.

Brighton signed Pedro from Watford in a deal valued at around £30m in the summer of 2023 and will be looking to make a substantial profit. Pedro, who has scored 30 goals in 70 appearances for Albion, has been on Newcastle's radar for some time, with the club showing interest as early as 2022.

But the Magpies have seen their £50m offer turned down and now face a battle with Chelsea and other Premier League clubs who are interested in the Brazilian.