Memphis Depay could still become a Chelsea player despite no deal being agreed with Barcelona on deadline day.
Todd Boehly attempted a late move for the Dutch forward to try and add him to Thomas Tuchel's attacking options but a complex situation meant that nothing was plausible.
However, due to a specific rule, that doesn't end Chelsea's interest of registering Depay for the current season, even after the window shuts.
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If a player is registered to a club after the deadline then no deal can be done to change, even if their contract was to be terminated and therefore the player would become a free agent. This is only plausible if the termination happened before the end of the window, meaning that they ended the window unattached to a club.
In this instance Chelsea had been offered the chance to sign Depay by his own entourage, but there wouldn't have been a transfer fee involved as Barcelona were happy to let the player go for free. This could still happen if the player was able to terminate his deal before the window ends.
In this instance Chelsea could then negotiate a contract with Depay days after the window has shut and register him along with their other signings before the cut-off date for this half of the campaign.
To confirm this news, Miguel Delaney tweeted, "A lot of talk that Memphis can go as a free agent tomorrow if Barcelona cancel contract, but that would have still have to be in the next hour and a half and it's unlikely, to say the least.
"If you terminate your contract after the window closes, you can’t register for a team until the next window opens."
This wouldn't stop Chelsea going back in for the player in January and with the winter World Cup it may yet be a key option later on in the season.
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