Transfers of Sunday, 16 August 2015
Source: goal.com
Official: Chelsea sign Rahman from Augsburg
Baba Rahman
Chelsea have completed the signing of Augsburg defender Baba Rahman for an undisclosed fee.
The Premier League champions had been looking for a new left-back following Felipe Luis' return to Atletico Madrid earlier this summer but initially struggled to agree a deal with the German outfit for their 21-year-old Ghana international.
Augsburg chairman Jonas Hoffman stated that the club had no need to sell, claiming that they would not even entertain any bid under £14 million (€20m).
As a result, Chelsea increased their offer to £17.5m (€20m) and, although Augsburg did not reveal the size of the transfer fee, the Bundesliga side announced on Sunday that Rahman is now on his way to Stamford Bridge.
Official: @babarahmangh leaves #FCA and joins @ChelseaFC! Good luck for your future, #Baba! http://t.co/xCHOZD1Gia pic.twitter.com/mRY0Xc55TL
— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) August 16, 2015Rahman only joined Augsburg from Greuther Furth last summer but sporting director Stefan Reuter insisted that there were no hard feelings towards the defender for pushing for a move to the Premier League.
"Baba has developed with us tremendously and made a great leap," he told Bild. "It's not just an award for his achievements, but also for our work, if an international giant like Chelsea are interested in signing him. We wish him well in England."
Rahman's signing comes as a timely boost for Chelsea, who have begun the defence of their crown in unconvincing fashion, taking just a single point from their opening two games and manager Jose Mourinho has moved to sure up a defence that has already leaked five goals.
Felipe Luis' departure had left Cesar Azpilicueta as their only option at left-back, with Kurt Zouma was forced to stand-in when the Spanish defender went off injured in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal earlier this month.
Rahman will now offer Mourinho an alternative to Azpilicueta at left-back, as well as the option to move the former Marseille man to right-back at the expense of Branislav Ivanovic.
