For a brief period, it looked like Niklas Sule could have provided a summer boost to Chelsea's defensive contract concerns after Bayern Munich confirmed his departure last month.
The defender, valued at £31m by TransferMarkt, had been linked to Stamford Bridge for many years and rumours sprung up again when Thomas Tuchel was appointed in 2021.
But on Monday afternoon, hopes of Sule joining were dashed when Borussia Dortmund confirmed they had agreed to sign the 26-year-old for next season.