Chelsea: Blues 'tried very hard' to lure £45m striker from under London rivals' noses

Chelsea were among a number of teams who attempted to steal in on Arsenal's move for Gabriel Jesus this summer - according to the Brazilian striker's agent.

Arsenal completed a £45m deal for Jesus earlier this month, but it has emerged that the Blues were determined to pip their London rivals to the former Manchester City man's signature.

Speaking to journalist Freddie Paxton, Jesus' agent Marcelo Pettinati said:

"Chelsea were one of the 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."

Tottenham were also said to be interested in Jesus, who left City after winning four Premier League titles in five years with Pep Guardiola's team.

As for Chelsea, well, they still filled their gaping gap up front by bringing in a £45m forward from City: Raheem Sterling, who completed his switch to West London on Wednesday.

It looked as though Nathan Ake might follow Sterling from the Etihad Stadium to Stamford Bridge - but Chelsea were unable to agree a fee to re-sign the defender.

However, Arsenal appear close to making their second signing from City this transfer window, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Gunners have verbally agreed a fee in the region of £30m for Oleksandr Zinchenko.