Chelsea owner Boehly enjoys dinner in Mayfair with James Corden

  /  autty

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly was pictured enjoying dinner with TV presenter James Corden in Mayfair on Monday night, after falling behind Barcelona in the race to sign 23-year-old defender Jules Kounde.

The American businessmen, who has already overseen the blockbuster signings of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly this month, was hoping to add Kounde to Thomas Tuchel's squad after agreeing a £55m deal with Sevilla last week.

But Barcelona managed to find sufficient funds to launch a late swoop on Monday, taking pole position to scupper Chelsea's plans.

Perhaps in a bid to lighten his spirits, Boehly joined Corden at Scott's restaurant alongside Clearlake Capital cofounder Behdad Eghbali yesterday evening.

Corden, who visited the lavish seafood restaurant last weekend alongside his friend and former The History Boys co-star Dominic Cooper, was spotted laughing and drinking with Boehly in what appeared to be a relaxed boys night out.

The Chelsea owner is set to host an informal dinner with his Premier League counterparts in London on Tuesday, according to The Athletic.

The plan to gather the 20 top flight executives for a shareholders' meeting has been reportedly well-received, although not every member is expected to attend.

Boehly, who completed the $4.25billion takeover of Chelsea in late May, was unable to show off his new club's talents in America during the Blues' turbulent US tour.

Despite beating Club America 2-1 in Las Vegas, Tuchel's side lost 5-3 on penalties to Charlotte before getting humiliated in a 4-0 thrashing by top six rivals Arsenal.

Now that Kounde is expected to sign with Barcelona, Boehly will have to rethink the club's transfer plans, as the new Premier League season is set to kick off in just 10 days.

Related: Chelsea Al Rayyan James Tuchel
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