Lyon have released a statement reaffirming their commitment to keep Moussa Dembele at the club, following speculation linking the striker with a move away from the Ligue 1 side.
Dembele signed for Les Gones at the beginning of the 2018/2019 season and hit 23 goals in 52 games for the club last term. The Frenchman has begun the 2019/20 campaign in similarly strong form, netting ten times across his 18 league appearances.
Manchester United are known to be interested in the striker but Chelsea were the first to place a bid for Dembele during the transfer window, with their €40m offer for the former Fulhum man being rejected on Thursday.
Lyon have asserted their reluctance to part ways with the 23-year-old in an article published on their official website.
"Olympique Lyonnais has taken note of certain information relayed by the media suggesting that Moussa Dembélé could interest other clubs during this transfer window," the statement began. "OL would like to reaffirm its wish, as in the summer of 2019, to keep Moussa Dembélé.
"The club has full confidence in Moussa and counts in particular on him to build a successful team for the seasons to come."
Although Lyon could easily make a sizeable profit on the €22m that they spent on the player, recent injuries have left them going forward, making a departure in January quite unlikely.
Memphis Depay and Jeff Reine-Adelaide are both set to be out for the season with serious knee complaints, making Dembele's role as principal goal-getter at Lyon even more vital.
Chelsea had earmarked the frontman as a player to relieve some of the goalscoring burden off of Tammy Abraham, who after a lightning start to the season has only managed one goal in his last six Premier League games.
Abraham has received little assistance from the Blues current backup strikers, Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud, and the latter could be included in a player-plus-cash deal if the London club decide to persist in the pursuit of Dembele despite Lyon's strong statement.
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Source :
90min
