Chelsea have been informed that summer target and Lyon midfielder Tanguy NDombele will not be sold this summer.
The 21-year-old joined from Amiens last summer for a season-long loan, which Lyon have since made permanent, paying a total of €10m to secure his services.
NDombele excelled in the middle of the park for the Ligue 1 outfit, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.25.
His performances didn’t go unnoticed with a host of Premier League teams credited with an interested in the youngster.
Tottenham were also monitoring NDombele, but Chelsea were believed to be leading the race to sign the Frenchman.
However, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is adamant that the player will not be sold this summer.
"We have not had any offers for him. While other clubs are interested, he will be with us next year in the middle. We must not let our best players leave,” Aulas is quoted as saying by RMC Sport.
The Blues had lined up NDombele as a possible replacement for N’Golo Kante, who is being monitored by PSG.
The 21-year-old’s dribble success rate (77%) was the second best in Ligue 1 last season of those to attempt 100+, reinforcing a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘dribbling’.