L’Équipe have provided an update on the future of French youth international attacker Elye Wahi, following other reports in the last 48 hours that Premier League club Chelsea are accelerating their talks to sign the 20-year-old, with the intention of loaning him to Strasbourg for the 2023/24 campaign.
Montpellier Chairman Laurent Nicollin was aware that Wahi was likely to be the subject of a transfer saga during this window, stating on 3rd July:
“The only pain, would be a departure on 26th or 27th August. It is always annoying for a club to find themselves under pressure to find someone. The earlier it is, the better.”
A source close to Wahi’s situation currently summarises his situation as “nothing concrete, but we are advancing well.”
A meeting was held on Monday in Paris with the player to discuss the opportunities that exist for the player, who is under contract until 2025 with MHSC. Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga are very interested in Wahi, who has even had a meeting with the club’s manager, Dino Toppmöller. Financially-speaking, the deal is complicated for Frankfurt to achieve, who are also not qualified for the Champions’ League. Montpellier have no intention of lowering their demands and the hypothesis of a move to Frankfurt is at the moment considered highly unlikely.
Wahi has found an agreement on personal terms with Chelsea – the idea of being in the Premier League is attractive to him. CFC have the idea of loaning him to another club that their American owners own, Strasbourg, for the 2023/24 campaign. The question for Wahi’s camp is whether a season in Ligue 1 under Patrick Vieira would constitute a genuine step forward in the player’s career at this stage. Wahi is not particularly enthralled by the idea but hasn’t made a definitive call on the matter.
Wahi is not completely closed off to the idea of remaining in Ligue 1, with PSG having enquired with the player in recent days through well-established intermediary Antero Henrique. Nothing further, so far, from Les Parisiens.
Nicollin in the meantime is awaiting a €30m opening proposal from Chelsea, which is the minimum that he expects.
Atlético Madrid and Crystal Palace have also had contact with Montpellier, with both making verbal offers to MHSC. The size of those proposals are currently unknown.
Wahi, who is currently on holiday, will have clarity soon. The question is… will he return to pre-season with Montpellier, or another club?
GFFN | James Thorpe
