Chelsea transfer target Ousmane Dembele's January transfer to Paris Saint-Germain has reportedly fallen through after the player had previously agreed personal terms.
The winger has looked destined to leave Barcelona throughout the January transfer window and on Sunday night, it was reported that he had decided to join the French giants as a means of moving on as soon as possible.
But the two clubs appear to have been unable to come to an agreement, with Dembele's contract at the Camp Nou set to expire in the summer.
Given Thomas Tuchel's previous connections with the 24-year-old from their time at Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea had been installed as one of the favourites to complete a deal.
But on Sunday night, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague revealed that the Blues did not want to rush through a deal and were not willing to ship players out hastily in order to complete it.
In the same update, Balague said that a deal for Dembele to move to PSG could be completed before the deadline. Now, he has provided a further update, saying that an agreement could not be reached.
"Message from #PSG now: #Dembele's transfer wont happen this winter," the journalist wrote on Twitter.
"Dembélé respresentatives admitted to be happy with the agreement with PSG and #FCB was suggesting players that could have been coming the other direction
"Now no way out for Dembélé... at this time."
While a January move from Chelsea for the player still seems unlikely, it does give Tuchel and co. a signifcant boost in terms of landing Dembele as a free agent in the summer.
French publication L'Equipe have reported, via Sport Witness, that if Dembele is to leave in the summer his preferred destination would be Stamford Bridge.
"He prefers Chelsea," the report reads.
They also dismiss claims that PSG now have a pre-contract agreement in place to sign the player at the end of his current deal.
