Edmond Tapsoba confirms ‘nothing concrete’ happening with Chelsea ... for the moment

Last month, Bayer Leverkusen center back Edmond Tapsoba was said to be subject of “initial contact” by Chelsea and Manchester United, after Arsenal had failed in their approach thanks to their inability to offer Champions League football.

The 22-year-old Burkina Faso international burst onto the scene last season, after joining from Portuguese top flight side Vitória Guimarães 18 months ago, and has quickly established himself as one of the best young defenders not only at Bayer but in the Bundesliga, too. Accordingly, Leverkusen’s asking price is said to be in the heady region of €60-70m.

Unsurprisingly, Tapsoba isn’t looking likely to move anywhere at the moment, as he himself confirmed in a recent interview.

“With Chelsea FC, for the moment, there is nothing concrete, nothing official. What I can say is that I will start my season with Bayer Leverkusen. We keep our fingers crossed for God to guide us to the right path.”

-Edmond Tapsoba; source: Burkina Info TV via Afrique Sports

I’m not sure how much to read into the specific mention of Chelsea — chances are he was simply asked about it — though the (auto-translated) response is detailed enough to make the situation look not entirely unfounded.

Perhaps one to keep in mind for the future, once we figure out what to do with all of our current defenders, most of whom have just one year left on their contracts (Tapsoba has four years left with Leverkusen at the moment).