Lyon have turned down an opening bid of €40m for Moussa Dembele from Chelsea, according to a report.
The striker only move to France from Celtic 18 months ago but his form has earned plaudits and admirers in the English Premier League.
Frank Lampard is on the lookout for a new striker to battle it out with Tammy Abraham, with Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi set to leave in the January window.
And now FootMercato say Lyon have turned down an initial offer of €40m (£33.9) but also believe Chelsea will come back for another bid.
Celtic will earned 10 per cent of any transfer fee due to a clause put in the deal when he was sold to the French club.
But Lyon don't want to sell in January after season ending injuries to Memphis Depay and Jeff Reine-Adeleide.
Chelsea could use French striker Giroud as part of a deal to get Dembele to the Premier League.
The former Montpellier and Arsenal star was linked with a move to Rangers, although Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard poured cold water on that.
Dembele has netted 25 goals in 49 games in Ligue 1 since moving to Lyon.
