Chelsea looked to have all but sealed the deal for winger Juan Cuadrado. Fiorentina coach VIncenzo Montella said he was on his way to the Premier League. A £26.8m fee was agreed. Cuadrado passed a medical.
But the Cuadrado saga offers an excellent example of why fans shouldn't get excited until they see their new player holding his new shirt (or, in the case of Arsenal, the player both wearing and holding the shirt, at the same time. Magical). See, in order to bring in Cuadrado, Chelsea have to get rid of Andre Schürrle.
The German is meant to be heading back to the Bundesliga. Problem is, Wolfsburg's general manager says that there is, in fact, no agreement at all. Now Chelsea need to race against the clock, probably dropping their £22.5m fee in order to convince the Wolves to bring Schürrle on board. But after a 4-1 thumping of Bayern Munich last Friday, second-place Wolfsburg may not see the transfer as necessary.
Add to that the whispers that there's a hold-up with Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian was meant to move to Fiorentina to help compensate for the loss of Cuadrado, but there are also complications with that deal, which could put the brakes on the whole thing.
Whew. Confused, much?