The 5pm Omari Hutchinson relegation release clause expired yesterday evening with Brentford having offered the required £35 million fee but not having met the required payment terms.
TWTD understands the Bees, who had an initial bid turned down on Monday, made a number of offers throughout the course of yesterday eventually hitting the £35 million mark.
However, although they met the required fee, their offer would have seen the cash paid over a lengthy period, a number of years, and therefore failed to meet the required terms of the clause, and the Blues once again rebuffed the bid, the largest ever turned down by the club. No other side showed interest.
The relegation release clause has now expired but, while Town have no intention of selling Hutchinson this summer, it seems likely that the Bees will come back in with a further offer, which would have to be in excess of £35 million and on the basis of cash up front to the greater degree rather than over a period of years, which could well be acceptable to the club.
Brentford are understood to view Hutchinson as among a handful of potential replacements for Bryan Mbeumo, who is a target of Manchester United, while Tottenham and Newcastle have also been linked.
Hutchinson, who has four years remaining on his Blues contract, is currently away on holiday having been given additional time off following the England U21s’ successful European Championship campaign.
Town paid Chelsea an initial £20 million for Hutchinson last summer with the £2.5 million top-up clauses having been triggered over the last year. The West Londoners are understood to be due a percentage of the fee the Blues would receive.