Gabriel Jesus’ agent claims Chelsea tried to hijack Arsenal transfer

Jesus has enjoyed a strong pre-season so far / James Williamson – AMA/GettyImages

Chelsea attempted to hijack Gabriel Jesus’ move to Arsenal this summer, according to the player’s agent.

Jesus completed a £45m switch to the Emirates Stadium earlier this month, becoming the Gunners’ highest paid player in the process.

The Brazilian has got his Arsenal career off to a strong start too, netting a brace on his debut during pre-season and also registering a goal and assist in his side’s 2-0 victory over Everton in Baltimore recently.

However, the Gunners were not the only Premier League side keen on signing the forward.

Marcelo Pettinati, who represents Jesus, has confirmed that Chelsea also enquired about a transfer.

“Chelsea were one of the teams that tried to hijack the Arsenal move. They tried very hard in the final days to get him. By that point, we’d already chosen our new project,” he told Freddie Paxton.

The Blues have not had much luck in the summer transfer window so far, missing out on several of their targets.

Chelsea had been interested in signing Raphinha from Leeds, but has was recently confirmed as a Barcelona player, and they have also seen a move for Nathan Ake collapse at the eleventh hour. Ousmane Dembele and Matthijs de Ligt will not be joining either.

The club have at least managed to complete deals for Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, and new owner Todd Boehly is keen to push on with further additions.

90min understands that Chelsea still want two further centre-backs through the door before the transfer window slams shut and Presnel Kimpembe is their latest target.

The Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate should be available, provided his current club can complete the signing of Milan Skriniar from Inter – which seems likely at this stage.