Lyon President Hints at Long-Term Stay for Chelsea Transfer Target Moussa Dembele

​Chelsea have suffered a setback in their pursuit of Moussa Dembele with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas revealing the striker wants to stay at the club 'to win something'.

Frank Lampard has been on the lookout for forward reinforcements this window to provide backup and competition for Tammy Abraham, with the futures of both Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud uncertain in west London.

The ​Blues were initially banned from signing any players in the January transfer window after being slapped with a FIFA transfer embargo, but a successful appeal against their case in early December reduced their two-window ban to a solitary window. That sparked a change of direction at Stamford Bridge, with Lampard rumoured to have a transfer kitty of £150m to spend on acquisitions.


One of the players mentioned has been former Celtic striker Dembele, who has netted 32 goals since his £20m move from the Bhoys in 2018, with ten of those goals coming in just 18 Ligue 1 fixtures this season.


Chelsea have since been dealt a blow in their attempts to lure the Frenchman to the ​Premier League, however, as Aulas confirmed the 23-year-old's desire to stay despite receiving offers already this month.


"Moussa Dembélé will not leave because he wants to stay to win something with Lyon," he said, via ​GFFN. "There have been offers for him and for other players but none of those that we want to keep will leave in January."

Fedor Chalov

There are other options on the table for Lampard's side this winter, as Chelsea remain keen on CSKA Moscow striker Fedor Chalov. The Russian striker was the subject of an offer from Crystal Palace last summer and will available for €25m (£21m) this summer. Dembele was thought to command a fee in the region of £40m.


Both Giroud and Batshuayi have been linked with a move away from the Blues this window, with Lampard even stating he will sanction the striker's departure ​if it is under the right conditions, meaning some movement is expected to take place at the club this January.


Source : 90min