Any hopes Tomas Kalas has of making his switch to Bristol City permanent could be blocked by Chelsea's refusal to sell any players as they fight their transfer embargo.
Kalas has excelled on loan at Ashton Gate this season, forming one of the Championship's best centre-back partnerships alongside Adam Webster, and City are keen to extend his stay beyond this summer but face reported competition from Celtic and Rangers for the Czech Republic international.
However, with Chelsea banned from signing players for the next two transfer windows after being found guilty by FIFA of breaching rules surrounding the signing of minors, Kalas could be left in limbo, as Blues teammate Andreas Christensen has revealed.
The Danish centre-back is seeking a move away from Stamford Bridge after falling out of favour under Maurizio Sarri but has revealed any exit is likely to be blocked as Chelsea fight their case via the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"The messages we've got are that Chelsea can't appeal the case and therefore want to keep all the players," the 22-year-old told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet .
"The situation I have ended up in has been very difficult to accept."
It is understood this does not affect the pre-existing deals City have in place to sign other Chelsea loanees Jay Dasilva and Kasey Palmer, should the Robins exercise their option.
Kalas is in Prague preparing for Czech Republic's friendly against Brazil on Tuesday and faces arguably an even tougher examination of his defensive credentials following a difficult night at Wembley last Friday.
The 25-year-old scored an own goal and endured a difficult evening in north London as Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling ran riot through the Czech defence in a 5-0 victory.
Should he keep his place in the starting XI, Kalas will likely have Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho, Richarlison of Everton and AC Milan starlet Lucas Paqueta for company.
