Chelsea needed a midfielder to arrive in the final hours of the summer transfer window. Thomas Tuchel's squad would be incomplete without one. And eventually, a deal was agreed upon by the club's ownership that resulted in a senior international arriving on a season-long loan with an option to buy of around £30million.
There was excitement among the Blues fanbase – and the feeling of a no-lose situation for the club. Unfortunately, that didn't prove the case. The players in question? Saul Niguez. The Spaniard joined Chelsea on deadline day last year from Atletico Madrid and wanted to re-establish himself at the top of the European game.
His pedigree was undeniable; his quality beyond doubt. Yet when he made his debut for Chelsea, he lasted just 45 minutes. It was the same story on his second Premier League appearance away at Watford, and Saul never truly recovered from that moment on at Stamford Bridge.
