Chelsea ‘tried to hijack’ Arsenal’s blockbuster Gabriel Jesus transfer from Man City after Romelu Lukaku’s move to Inter Milan

Chelsea attempted a last-minute plot to hijack Arsenal’s move for Gabriel Jesus, according to his agent.

The Gunners completed one of the biggest deals of the summer so far when they signed the Brazilian from Manchester City.

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AFP

That deal came after Mikel Arteta’s side lost both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette since the start of the year.

While Arsenal will be clearly delighted to get their man, it wasn’t always set in stone that they would get the deal done.

Chelsea have also been looking for a new forward this summer as they look to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool.

While Raheem Sterling has now been signed as a forward option, the need for an attacker was strengthened when Romelu Lukaku completed a loan move to Inter Milan, leaving the Blues with a sizeable gap in attack.

With the need for an attacker, Jesus’ agent, Marcelo Pettinati revealed that Tuchel’s side did in fact try to pip Arsenal to the post.

Thankfully for the Gunners, the work had already been done.

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Pettinati said: “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.”

Jesus could now face Chelsea on July 23 in the United States when the Premier League giants clash in a pre-season friendly.