Chelsea sent packing as late £50m swap approach for Richarlison fails to leave Tottenham on home straight

Richarlison will be signing for Tottenham Hotspur as expected despite a late attempt by Chelsea to hijack his move from Everton, per the latest reports.

Tottenham are on the verge of making Richarlison their latest summer signing. He would be joining the likes of Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Fraser Forster in signing for the club ahead of the new season.

The Everton attacker has been keen to step up to Champions League level. Now, Tottenham are ready to give him that platform.

Indeed, the player is reportedly taking a medical on Thursday before putting the finishing touches to the move.

However, Chelsea could also have given him Champions League involvement. And it is now emerging that they made a move to sign him.

First, The Athletic reporter David Ornstein revealed that an unnamed club other than Spurs showed late interest in Richarlison. However, Everton were by that stage ready to accept a revised bid of £50m plus £10m in add-ons from Tottenham.

That was an improvement on their original £40m offer, which Everton rejected.

Perhaps in the meantime, Chelsea were eyeing an opportunity to snatch the Brazilian. Indeed, other sources such as JOE and Fabrizio Romano have revealed it was the Blues who tried to hijack the move.

Broja was on table in part-exchange deal

According to JOE, Chelsea were willing to put together their own £50m package for Richarlison. They would have offered £15m to Everton as well as the services of Armando Broja, whom they believe is worth £35m.

Broja spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Southampton from Chelsea and now faces an uncertain future.

However, Chelsea withdrew their proposal once they learned Tottenham were set to sign Richarlison. As Romano summarises (without mentioning Broja), Spurs have an agreement with both Everton and Richarlison himself.

Now, they are just waiting for him to pass a medical in his native Brazil. Then, he can put pen to paper on his contract.

Chelsea could have been interesting choice for Richarlison

By joining Tottenham, Richarlison will have to compete for a place in attack with the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski. It may be tough for him to feature as prominently as he has for Everton.

Alternatively, if Chelsea had been successful in their pursuit, he could have taken the place of Romelu Lukaku – who has returned to Inter Milan on loan – in the squad.

That said, he would have still faced competition from Kai Havertz for a central role. Out wide, Chelsea are eyeing other signings such as Raphinha and Raheem Sterling.

Tottenham and Everton agree deal for Richarlison

Everton have agreed a deal to sell Richarlison to Tottenham following a medical

Therefore, although in theory Chelsea could have been a good destination for him, signing for Spurs may be an equally appropriate move.

He will have his work cut out for him to cope with the step up, though. It is now up to the Brazilian to prove himself.

And as for Broja, he will have to find a new solution himself. Everton would have given him a good platform to continue his development. But he could find somewhere else that can provide him with a similar continuity to what he enjoyed at Southampton.

READ MORE: Tottenham to pursue £13m LaLiga left-back deal after Richarlison, Lenglet transfers go through