Tottenham and Chelsea's hopes of signing Youcef Atal in the January transfer window have been dealt a huge hit.
The Algerian international has impressed since arriving at Nice last summer, making 31 appearances for the French outfit last season and playing all but four of the games under Patrick Vieira so far this season.
Although he has been playing more as a winger this season, he announced himself as a right-back under Vieira last year.
Interest in him grew over the summer with the Algerian admitting PSG had contacted his agent, but Atal and Nice stood firm. Tottenham and Chelsea were also rumoured to be sniffing around with prices of £35million being mentioned by The Telegraph but a summer transfer was ruled out by club president Jean-Pierre Rivere.
Rumours of a January move were bound to resurface, given Nice's struggles to stay in touch with the top teams in Ligue Un, but there will be no January transfer to the Premier League now.
And Atal could be forced to stay at Nice next summer too, after suffering a huge injury setback.
Atal went down injured in the first half of the 4-1 win over Metz on Saturday and was taken off with just 29 minutes on the clock.
In a statement on the club's official website, Nice said: "Bad news for Youcef Atal and the Eagles. Forced to give way half an hour into the game against Metz this Saturday (4-1), the Algerian international has passed additional exams.
"The diagnosis revealed a meniscal lesion in the right knee. The 23-year-old, who will be operated soon, will unfortunately be out of action for a long time."
There is no timescale noted but it does not sound good for Atal.
Spurs have had problems at right-back, with Kieran Trippier leaving in the summer, and Atal was seen as a potential replacement in January.
