Would require another lever for sure but if Braithwaite, Umtiti and a few other deadwood leave it could be possible to register. Selling more of the club though for a player we don't even want to stay would be disastrous.
The Chelsea links are probably Frenkie's agents working the media to trying get a CL club involved - I believe CL is still an important factor, just my opinion.
From what I gather he gets 88M over the next four years and 17M of that is the "deferred wages" causing the Mexican standoff.
That leaves 71M over four years that AN Other absolutely has to be paying him to make the numbers work (assuming he gets the 17M from Barca), That's 18M/year, which works out at 350k/week. There's no CL team out there needing this lad that badly that they will stump up the same fee and that wage as the bare minimum. Not a chance in hell, only Manchester United is capable of getting so far up shit creek. Furthermore, we have the best odds for the transfer to work (manager, desired tactics) while anywhere else it's a luxury signing.
No CL should also be working in his favour as a potential upside going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we are indeed offering 450k on the basis that post 25% non-CL it's almost the required 350k and
once we get back to the CL he is laughing all the way to the bank. If we don't he breaks even, you wouldn't move otherwise, would you?
That's so long as these all important 17M get sorted. Barca paying 7M would mean 500K to make up the shortfall and I can't blame Barcelona or FDJs agent for believing we'll pay up. We will, it's an absolute certainty so may as well do it today and get on with it.