Supposed Chelsea target reveals that Chelsea were never actually interested in the first place

For a hot minute there, following a successful Copa America, Chilean midfielder Charles Aranguiz was linked to a whole host of top European clubs, anticipated to make the long-awaited move across the Atlantic from South America.  That list included Chelsea, and while the rumors did seem tenuous, on some level they made sense as we were supposedly looking to add or improve depth across the squad, and Aranguiz, to many, represented a clear upgrade over either Mikel or Ramires.  We even did a profile on him!

The rumors eventually died down as it became clearer and clearer that if Aranguiz were to move, he would end up somewhere other than Chelsea.  That someplace other has turned out to be Bayer Leverkusen...

There he is: Charles #Aránguiz! Der Chilene unterschrieb einen Vertrag bis 2020 bei der #Werkself. Bienvenido! pic.twitter.com/0H0PTzW9sj

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) August 13, 2015

...and as it turns out, they were pretty much the only option all along.

"I picked Leverkusen because they always showed interest in me. No other club talked to me. They were always very clear."

-Charles Aranguiz; source: Express

Just another reminder that the vast majority of transfer rumors do not actually turn out to be even remotely true.  It's why we call it Silly Season.