After a crazy last 24 hours in the January transfer window, Ousmane Dembele has reportedly decided to stay put in Barcelona amid late Chelsea interest.
Who would have thought that the west Londoners would have been contemplating a move for the wide man this month when it was believed their sole focus was to sign a temporary Ben Chilwell replacement?
However, Marina Granovskaia and co failed in their attempts to recall Emerson Palmieri from his Lyon loan meaning that Tuchel was forced to make do with what he had in his armoury.
With a large abundance of time left since the final Emerson blow, all the talk then turned towards a potential Ousmane Dembele reunion for Tuchel in west London.
Some media outlets reported on Monday that a deal was incredibly close, but football.london understands that a move is not likely.
A deal may have been likely had a Chelsea attacker left in January, but with the likes of Christian Pulisic staying put this month it's thought Chelsea could turn their attention to Dembele again in the summer.
Therefore, the best the Blues could have hoped for is that no one would swoop in this month and despite Spurs and PSG reportedly interested, coupled with the best efforts of Joan Laporta and co in Catalunya to drum up late drama for the unwanted player, the best outcome has happened for the European Champions who could become more active on their Dembele pursuit when he becomes a free agent.
This news has now been confirmed by French outlet RMC Sport and Spanish outlet SPORT who concluded that the 24-year-old will be staying put this month despite Barca's pleas.
The report in the latter of the media organisations went on to clarify: "Barça wanted to move the French winger on in January, but have not managed to reach an agreement with any club for him to leave.
"Therefore, the former Borussia Dortmund winger will remain at Camp Nou until the end of the season.
"Barça, led by director of football Mateu Alemany, spoke with PSG, Chelsea and Tottenham on Monday but could not 'place' Dembele anywhere.
"He is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with other clubs."
Regarding the supposed links to Chelsea's north London rivals, football.london understands Fabio Paratici said a 'polite no' to Barca when he picked up the late call from the La Liga outfit.
With Steven Bergwijn staying coupled with the arrival of Dejan Kulusevski at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on deadline day, there was never no appetite for a Dembele type signing for the Lilywhites.
All attention now turns towards the summer in relation to what happens next in this crazy Dembele transfer saga but part one is now fully closed.
