Kylian Mbappe rejected
Chelsea once sensationally turned down the opportunity to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe because of concerns about his defensive abilities.
Mbappe went on trial for the Blues when he was 12 years old and spent a week at their Cobham training ground but was only invited back for a second trial at the end of it, rather than being offered a contract.
That infuriated the now 23-year-old’s mum, who gave them an ultimatum via former scout Serge Daniel Boga.
Boga told Goal: “She said to me, ‘listen, my boy won’t be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now, or in five years time they will be coming back to buy him for €50million (£45m)’.”
Boga added: “He was very skilful, but in England they want to see the player track back and be a hard worker.
“At the time, he wasn’t a hard worker, defensively he wasn’t there yet. When he got the ball, he was unbelievable, but without the ball, he didn’t work a lot.
“Chelsea wanted to see him again to see how he could improve on this – I think that’s why they asked him back. He did skilful things and dribbled well, so maybe the things they wanted to see in the second trial was improved work on the defensive side.”
Mbappe left West London with just a Chelsea shirt he was gifted at the end of his trial
Source: The Sun
