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We had been hearing some talk that Benfica wanted one or two young Chelsea talents included in a deal for Nemanja Matic, and today we're beginning to hear some names attached to those rumors. According to the London Evening Standard, Benfica were told they couldn't have either of Gael Kakuta or Oriol Romeu in addition to Chelsea's cash, with the Blues holding firm to an offer that was considerably smaller than Benfica could have probably had from someone else.
Romeu is starting to play more like his old self as he recovers from ACL surgery, and it's not impossible to believe that he could return to contribute at Chelsea in the future. I'm sure the club would like to avoid finding themselves in this same situation as they did with Matic several years down the line, and refusing to budge on Romeu makes some sense.
Kakuta is a bit more surprising, as he's looking likely to depart the club in relatively short order. He's not going to have much value on the transfer market, and I can't imagine his inclusion would have been anything Chelsea were worried about coming back to haunt them.
Regardless, it's looking as if this deal will be announced shortly, and won't involve any Chelsea player leaving the club. After the way things turned out last time, that's fantastic news indeed.
