Nantes rejects Chelsea's initial bid, demanding a massive €50 million for their prized teenage defender. Blues face steep negotiations to secure the talent.
The transfer market remains red-hot. In 2026, the standards have evolved so much that a €30M offer for an 18-year-old player is becoming almost commonplace. Chelsea reminded us of this by investing €45M in Estevao, a talented attacker who is already showing flashes of his magic.
At the same time, the Club World Cup champion has set a new long-term target. According to information from L'Equipe, it has submitted a €30M offer to get the green light from Nantes for Tylel Tati (18). After making his professional debut this season, he has already landed on the radar of Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and Juventus.
However, it appears the London proposal will not be enough. Nantes will demand a minimum of €50M to agree to the sale of its defender. Furthermore, L'Equipe reports that Chelsea has already been rejected for a player they are intensifying their efforts for. This makes it seem very complicated for an agreement to be reached this winter.
Chelsea Faces €50M Demand From Ligue 1 Club For Defender
That said, it's an open secret that this Premier League powerhouse is very interested in the French market. All of this, of course, is because it is pursuing the Jérémy Jacquet (Rennes) avenue to shore up its defense for the 2026/27 season. Regarding Tati, the Blues will also have to flex their financial muscle.
The 18-year-old player is a key player for Nantes and has started 18 of his last 20 matches, accumulating over 1,650 minutes with the French team, currently in 16th place in Ligue 1.
While the Blues are working to bring in central defenders, they are looking to offload Axel Disasi before the end of the window.
Disasi has not played for Chelsea in over a year, but has appeared for the development team this season to work on his fitness.
Chelsea has until 7 p.m. Monday to finalize an exit for Disasi. Otherwise, he is likely to go until June without playing football, which is not good for all parties involved.
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