Ousmane Dembele appears destined to leave Barcelona but it doesn't look like it will be on transfer deadline day.
The injury plagued former Borussia Dortmund star has had a difficult time at the Catalan club and his contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
The 24-year-old winger was linked to Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain in the final week of the window. Thomas Tuchel's connection to Dembele from his time at Dortmund is well known but prospect of a deal seemed to come too late for the Blues, who have a large number of players in forward positions.
Tuchel said of Dembele: "He is a very good player when he is in his top level. I am very fortunate to have trained him in my time at Dortmund. It was only one year, it should have been longer. I needed to leave and he decided to leave.
"From there we are not in closest contact, we met here and there because of his duties for the French national team and of course I was in Paris so this was more or less when they were preparing for national duties, it’s very close to Paris. This is where we met or exchanged some messages.
"He is in a situation (at Barcelona), I have no idea why or what the situation and detail is. I know how I feel about it when it’s about my players so it is better not to talk.”
PSG appeared to move to the forefront of making a deal, with reports suggesting personal terms had even been agreed with the Frenchman.
However, it now seems Mauricio Pochettino would prefer to do the deal in the summer when the attacker will be available on a free transfer, meaning other clubs may have another opportunity to seal a transfer. It leaves the prospect of Dembele leaving before the January deadline a small one.
football.london takes a look at the players who will be relieved and benefit from not having yet more competition in the forward positions.
Hakim Ziyech
The former Ajax star has started to find some form in January and capped off his month with a fine strike over Tottenham.
Ziyech has struggled for a run of games for large stretches of the season but started in three consecutive Premier League matches in January and scored twice.
His previous exceptional form came in pre-season with the Moroccan one of the first Blues stars at Cobham to train with Tuchel, and he produced outstanding displays until his injury in the UEFA Super Cup.
Not having another body to compete with will give Ziyech the greatest opportunity for his current run to continue.
Harvey Vale
The Cobham product is reported to have seen a loan to Huddersfield Town rejected by the Chelsea hierarchy with the potential of spending more time with the first team on the horizon of the Club World Cup.
The 18-year-old has featured on the bench in the Premier League, while playing in the Carabao Cup against Brentford and Spurs, and the FA Cup against Chesterfield.
Vale has 18 months remaining on his deal and the next six months could be crucial in club and player establishing the role and route he could have to the first team.
The Blues have avoided putting Vale in the shop window, and by not signing Dembele they've avoiding adding another threat to Vale's future.
Kai Havertz
The German international has had a slow start to 2022 and the last thing he needed was more competition in forward positions.
Havertz netted in the first leg of the Carabao Cup against Spurs but has had a limited impact otherwise being unable to get off the bench in three other matches.
Signing Dembele would perhaps indicate a change in tact in the type of forwards Chelsea look utilise given the talents already at the club, but instead Havertz still should have a role if he can find some form.
Callum Hudson-Odoi/ Christian Pulisic
The Chelsea duo would perhaps see the most direct competition from Dembele given his direct and attacking quality.
While Dembele has not earned a great deal of playing time at Barcelona, he would come in as another older figure that could hamper the development of Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic.
Given his profile, he would likely only be signed to start and at 23 and 21 respectively, Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi will both be hoping for more rather than less minutes if they are to continue their journey at Stamford Bridge.
