Boehly signing could leave Chelsea before even playing for club as Euro giants plot insane transfer hijack

A player signed by Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly in the January transfer window could astonishingly leave Stamford Bridge before even playing for the club, according to a report.

After going on a transfer rampage last summer, Boehly continued his spending spree in January by landing eight new players for Chelsea. In total Boehly spent around £328million on those stars, the most expensive being midfielder Enzo Fernandez (costing a British record £107m) and winger Mykhaylo Mudryk (£89m).

Some of the new arrivals have impressed, mainly Fernandez, Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix. But others, such as Mudryk, have got some work to do before they win over the Chelsea faithful.

Right-back Malo Gusto and central midfielder Andrey Santos are in a whole different category as they are currently out on loan. Gusto has re-joined Lyon, while Santos has returned to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama.

Both players are expected to return to Chelsea in the summer, where they will be assessed by the new manager. Gusto and Santos will then learn whether they have done enough to make it into the senior squad, or if they will be loaned out for next season.

However, there is now the possibility of Gusto leaving Chelsea before ever making an appearance in their first team. According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have put the exciting Ligue 1 star on their shortlist.

READ MORE: Shambolic Chelsea vulnerable to Liverpool and Man City raids as Klopp fights Guardiola for defender transfer that’ll leave Boehly red-faced

Blaugrana boss Xavi wants a new right-back to join this summer as he is not happy with his current options. Barca looked into signing Gusto in January but were beaten to his capture by Chelsea.

However, they have retained their interest in him and are now considering whether to make an approach at the end of the campaign.

Barcelona interested in Chelsea, Man Utd players

It must be noted that the 19-year-old is not the only full-back on Barca’s radar. They are also keeping tabs on Manchester United star Diogo Dalot, Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Meunier and Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen.

But, as Barca chiefs have looked into landing Gusto previously, they could end up reigniting their pursuit of him.

It would be incredible if Barca managed to snare Gusto away from Chelsea without him ever actually playing for the west London side. Such a move would see Boehly effectively give up on the France U21 international without giving him a chance to impress.

However, it will be very tough for Barca to actually complete a permanent move for the defender. Chelsea officials rate him highly and believe he could become one of the best full-backs or wing-backs in the Premier League.

As a result, Barca would need to pay way more than the £26.3m Chelsea originally spent on Gusto in order to take him to the Nou Camp.

Perhaps the only way Barca will manage to land Gusto is by securing his services on a season-long loan. This would solve their right-back problem for next season and also prevent Chelsea from having to let him go permanently.

Chelsea could benefit hugely from this transfer, too. It would give Gusto the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in Europe and then return to Stamford Bridge next summer as a better player.

It is now up to Barca to decide if they want to press ahead with a daring raid for Gusto or go for an alternative right-back who might be far easier to capture.

Meanwhile, Chelsea reportedly have ‘renewed optimism’ about preventing a midfielder’s exit by tying him down to a fresh contract.