Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Lyon striker Moussa Dembele as they search for more competition for Tammy Abraham, with doubt over the future of Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud.
The French striker currently plays his football for Ligue 1 side Lyon, and the club have outlining their stance on the future of the player.
“OL would like to reaffirm its wish, as in the summer of 2019, to keep Moussa Dembele," part of the statement read. “The club has full confidence in Moussa and counts in particular on him to build a successful team for the seasons to come.”
The statement could be seen as an indicator that a January move won't happen for the striker, but there has been a previous saga that could give hope to Chelsea fans that a move still could be on the cards.
As pointed out by ChelsTransfer on Twitter, back in June 2017, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas claimed in an interview that he was confident that Alexandre Lacazette would stay at the club.
'I do not think that Alexandre Lacazette will leave this summer," he told Canal Plus .
However, just one week later, Lacazette completed a deal to move to the Emirates Stadium on a permanent basis.
He has since gone onto score 42 goals in 105 appearances for the Gunners.
Dembele has scored 10 goals in 18 Ligue 1 games this season.
