Chelsea were a matter of a few fine details away from splashing out £35million on a player in the summer before pulling out of the deal at the last minute. Now, some months later, Samu Omorodion has spoken out on his collapsed transfer to Stamford Bridge.
The 20-year-old revealed he spent "many nights crying" after watching his dream move fall apart and subsequently being frozen out by his club Atletico Madrid.
The Spain youth international had been targeted by the Blues' transfer chiefs as part of a convoluted operation between the two clubs, with Conor Gallagher moving to the Civitas Metropolitano in a separate £33m move.
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It was expected that the west London club would finalise personal terms with Omorodion after striking an agreement to pay a big-money fee for the 20-year-old.
But after reportedly moving the goalposts, Chelsea withdrew their interest and pulled the plug. That left Omorodion in limbo as he was stranded in Madrid, who were desperate to offload him.
Several weeks after the transfer saga, Omorodion has addressed his failed move to the Premier League and the sadness he felt after being exiled by the Spanish club.
"For the gold it was not so bitter. But it was a very complicated summer," Omorodion told Marca. "When I was in Madrid I had a very bad time. In the end, thank God everything turned out well.
"If it didn't work out with Chelsea, it was for a reason and in the end it all worked out well.
He added: "At Atletico, I was training on the sidelines. I didn't feel like a participant or like a footballer. I trained and my head told me not to.
"I had a bad time. [I spent] many nights crying... my family and my mother had a very bad time."
Chelsea moved to snap up his team-mate Joao Felix on deadline day for £42m, while Omorodion later joined FC Porto in a deal that saw the Portuguese giants acquire 50 per cent of his transfer rights for £15m.
He has proved to be a steal so far for the Estadio do Dragao outfit, scoring seven goals in as many games for his new club, including a superb double in the 3-3 Europa League draw with Manchester United.
Despite missing out on a move to London, the former Alaves loanee has no regrets: "In the end, thank God, it all came to an end quickly and I made the best decision [to join Porto]," he added.
