Chelsea signs Juan Cuadrado; deals André Schürrle, Mohamed Salah
The English Premier League leaders have made three of the biggest moves on transfer deadline day, bringing in Colombian forward Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina while moving forwards André Schürrle and Mohamed Salah to Wolfsburg and Fiorentina, respectively. The club announced the moves on Monday.
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Cuadrado comes to Chelsea after protracted saga in which the club first needed to confirm the departures of Schürrle and and Salah to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. Cuadrado starred for Colombia in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, serving as the catalyst for an entertaining side that made the quarterfinals before losing to Brazil. Cuadrado finished the tournament tied for most assists with Germany's Toni Kroos. The Guardian reports that Chelsea paid £26.8 million (about $40.3 million) for Cuadrado, who signed a four-year contract with the London club.
Schürrle, meanwhile, returns to the Bundesliga after one and a half seasons with Chelsea in which the speedy forward failed to nail down a regular place in the team. Wolfsburg and Chelsea have not revealed the fee paid for the Germany World Cup winner, but the Guardian reports it to be in the neighborhood of £24 million ($36 million). At Wolfsburg, Schürrle will team up with Kevin de Bruyne, another speedy forward who couldn't hold down a place in the Chelsea first team after a much-publicized move.
Salah, 22, who moved to Chelsea at the start of last season after impressing with Swiss club FC Basel, will go to Fiorentina on a six-month loan. Salah made 19 total appearances with Chelsea (eight this season), scoring two goals.
