While the media is abuzz with stories of €75m-man Alvaro Morata and €90m-man Gonzalo Higuain, Chelsea's actual business may be a bit more reasonable. Certainly, €40m for Michy Batshuayi is not exactly a bargain, but it flew completely under the radar until it was pretty much a done deal.
It would appear that Chelsea were hoping for something similar with another young star, a certain Gabriel Barbosa Almedia, better known as Gabigol. (Yes, he scores a lot of GOOOOOOOOOLs, over 600 for various Santos youth teams in eight years.)
According to UOL Sport, Chelsea had made a €30m bid for the 19-year-old, but Gabigol himself has rejected it (alongside an offer from China) and instead will sign a new contract with the club he's been at since age 8. The old contract, his first professional deal, had a €50m buyout; there's no word on what the new amount may be.
Even if someone was to pay the fee, Gabigol is intent on staying and following the exact career path of Neymar, at least until Real Madrid come knocking. The report also claims that just as with Neymar, Barcelona do have the first option to match any accepted bid, which would complicate any potential transfer even further. Not that it matters because Gabigol isn't going anywhere right now.
Still, even though Chelsea's bid was rejected, it's nice to know that we're at least trying to make smarter moves than breaking the bank for either of Morata or Higuain.