Chelsea had £38m bid for defender turned down in the summer

Lyon reportedly rejected an offer from Chelsea for Castello Lukeba in the previous transfer window.

According to L’Equipe, Todd Boehly had a £38m bid turned down by the French side for their young defender.

Lukeba is certainly not the flashiest name linked to the South West London side, so it’s no surprise this interaction went under the radar.

The 20-year-old only made his senior debut for Lyon last August, starting against Stade Brestois on the first league game of the campaign.

He played 32 times that season and even faced Premier League opposition in the Europa League quarter-final.

West Ham United managed to overcome the Frenchman and his teammates across the two legs.

But the meeting with the Hammers will have provided Lukeba with great experience, and potentially more of what is to come in the future.

Had Chelsea seemingly had their way, the centre-back would’ve had the chance to face West Ham more regularly.

As it transpired, Lyon decided to fend off the Blues and hold onto their academy graduate for a little while longer.

This denial by the Ligue 1 club has not put off Boehly from dipping into this particular market, however.

Badiashile and Lukeba have been league rivals in the past few year, and also direct competitors for a spot in the France Under-21 squad.

In terms of the race to join Chelsea, Badiashile is the winner in this one.

Report: Chelsea had £38m bid for defender turned down in the summer, now they are about to sign his rival