Arsenal and Chelsea look set to miss out on the signing of highly-rated Olympique Lyonnais defender Samuel Umtiti, according to reports in France.
The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in European football at the moment and his performances over the last 18 months has seen him linked with a host of leading clubs including the Barclays Premier League duo as well as Serie A giants Juventus.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho appears to be in the transfer market for a new centre-back after losing out to rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the signing of Belgian international Toby Alderweireld. The reigning EPL champions also saw their £20 million bid for Everton youngster John Stones rejected over the weekend [via Sky Sports].
With captain John Terry turning 35 in December, it appears as though Mourinho is already looking to the future, as it’s highly unlikely that the former England international will be able to sustain his high level of performances for too much longer.
Meanwhile, fellow London rivals Arsenal are thought to have scouted Umtiti on numerous occasions as they too look to strengthen their defensive options heading into the new season as manager Arsene Wenger is surely hoping to avoid a repeat of the injury crisis in that area last year which forced Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy to cover at centre-half.
However, both clubs have been dealt a huge blow in their attempts to land the Frenchman as reports in L’Equipe [via talkSPORT] claim that the defender is ready to snub interest from abroad and sign a new contract with last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up.
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Umtiti made 35 league appearances for Lyon last season, scoring once and assisting twice as they ran eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain close for the title.