Fabrizio Romano has now dealt Chelsea a big blow when it comes to their late attempts to sign one striker this month.
He took to Twitter to confirm that Jonathan David was set to stay at Lille this month, however a future opportunity could be extremely appealing to any interested side.
David’s name has been frequently mentioned as a potential transfer target for the Blues for a number of windows now.
He was previously of interest to the club when Graham Potter was in charge, however that move was thrown into doubt when it emerged he didn’t actually know who the boss at the time was.
While he has never seemed to be the number one target, the fact he has been reportedly available for a fee of around £51m suggests that he could offer value at half the price they have been quoted for the likes of Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney.
Romano has now claimed that the deal will not be happening in the final days of January, however the Blues may want to come again when his current deal expires next summer.
David staying amid Chelsea interest
He said: “Jonathan David won’t leave Lille in the final days of the January transfer window. Lille want to keep their best players in January despite interest from England, Spain, Italy — David is staying.
“He’s gonna be one to watch in summer as current deal expires in June 2025.”
It now looks as if Chelsea may go through this entire window without making a big signing, a propsect that has been alien since Todd Boehly started running the club.
It is likely that they will instead wait until the end of the season before addressing the striker issue at Stamford Bridge, when Osimhen will be available to sign following his recent new contract signed at Napoli.
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