Exclusive: Chelsea in strong negotiating position over star’s potential transfer away, says expert

Chelsea are in a strong negotiating position regarding any potential transfer away for Benoit Badiashile this January due to tying him down to such a long contract when they signed him from Monaco last year.

That’s according to the analysis of French football expert Jonathan Johnson as he spoke to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing today, with the journalist discussing the tricky time Badiashile has had since moving to Stamford Bridge.

The France international looked a hugely promising young talent during his time at former club Monaco, but it’s proven difficult for him at Chelsea so far, and he’s no longer playing as often under Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino.

This has led to some surprising transfer gossip involving Badiashile ahead of January, with talk that the 22-year-old could make a speedy exit from the club, though Johnson is unsure how realistic this is due to his lengthy contract.

“We’re already seeing Benoit Badiashile being linked with a move away from Chelsea, less than a year since he joined from Monaco. There’s no doubt he’s struggled a bit, but it’s also the reality that he’s one of a number of players at Chelsea who’s tied into a very long-term contract,” Johnson said.

“Despite links with the likes of AC Milan, that puts Chelsea in a very strong position if anybody wants to come in and try to prise him away. Based on that contract situation and how he’s played at Chelsea so far, I don’t think he’ll necessarily be seen as a very attractive prospect for a lot of clubs.

“Perhaps there would be potential for a loan with a view to buying, but if he’s not starting a lot of games and he’s not excelling at Stamford Bridge then it’s hard to imagine him being a very attractive prospect at the kind of price that Chelsea would presumably demand.

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“It’s not the easiest environment at Chelsea right now and it seems like Badiashile would benefit more from being in the kind of environment he was in at Monaco. There’s simply no guarantee now that he’s going to get a lot of minutes now that Chelsea remain in a delicate situation in mid-table and Mauricio Pochettino is under so much pressure to get the team back in contention for a place in Europe.

“It’s interesting to see these Badiashile rumours surface less than a year after his arrival, but his contractual situation looks potentially like a significant stumbling block, and one that could bind him to Chelsea for a few more years. It might be that he’ll come to regret that decision when he could’ve been better off playing more football elsewhere.”