Chelsea supporters were relieved to discover that ex-Manchester City defender Eric Garcia turned down an offer from the Blues before rejoining Barcelona.
According to the Daily Star, Garcia rejected bids from Chelsea and Arsenal prior to his move away from Manchester.
Blues fans were largely reassured that the Spaniard settled on the Nou Camp rather than Stamford Bridge.
Garcia will be returning to the club he began his career following four years within City’s ranks.
The 20-year-old grew up in Barcelona’s fabled La Masia academy before switching to England in 2017.
His time in the North West was spent under former Barca coach, Pep Guardiola, who had nothing but admiration for the young centre-back.
Guardiola said Garcia was ‘like a son’ and that after lockdown he was ‘our best defender’ (Manchester Evening News).
If Chelsea had made an approach, it would add another player to their ever-growing list of possible defensive recruits.
They have already missed out on Dayot Upamencano and Mohamed Simakan, who have recently signed for Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig respectively.
Securing David Alaba also looks like a fading possibility, with Sky Sports Germany suggesting his most likely destination will be La Liga.
Other names have been banded about, but nothing has yet materialised for the Blues.