Chelsea were reportedly the club that pushed hardest to seal the transfer of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele towards the end of January.
In the end, the France international ended up staying at the Nou Camp, but one imagines his long-term future still lies away from the club as he edges ever closer to the end of his contract.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca suspect that Dembele already has an agreement in place to join Paris Saint-Germain, though the report also mentions that Chelsea were very keen on him on deadline day.
The 24-year-old could undoubtedly have been a useful signing for the Blues, with Thomas Tuchel in need of upgrades on under-performing attacking players like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic.
It remains to be seen if Chelsea can still land Dembele in the summer of if their chance has now gone and he is indeed heading for PSG, as Mundo Deportivo suggest.
It may well be that, in the long run, CFC will view this as a bit of a bullet dodged, with Dembele never really living up to the potential he showed earlier in his career.
The Frenchman looked a superb talent in his time at Borussia Dortmund, but he’s had issues with fitness and form at Barcelona, so there may be better options out there for Tuchel and co.
Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick recently admitted he wasn’t sure Dembele would be the right fit at Stamford Bridge.
“Obviously that previous relationship [with Tuchel] always helps a lot. I think in terms of the shape Chelsea play I’m not sure it would suit him. They don’t tend to play with out-and-out wingers, it’s more inverted wide-men,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
“I’m not sure that shape would suit him, but then maybe if a player like that comes in you change your shape to fit him in. Overall I’m not sure I see Dembele at Chelsea.”