With that, Thomas Essien briefed Wang Shuo on the intelligence he'd gathered after contacting both sides.
To put it simply, Chelsea hoped for Wang Shuo to join them during the winter break.
Ideally, they wanted the transfer completed before January 1st. That way, he could still make the last game of the Premier League's grueling Christmas fixture list.
Specifically, the Matchday 21 fixture, Chelsea's home game against Aston Villa.
That match was scheduled for January 2nd.
Dortmund, however, didn't want Wang Shuo to transfer during the winter break. They hoped he would stay with the team and finish out the season.
To a certain extent, Wang Shuo's departure from Dortmund seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
The real questions were which team he would go to next and when it would happen.
"Chelsea just lost again in Matchday 15 of the Premier League. They surrendered their spot at the top of the table, which is why they're so desperate now."
