Tottenham had a £25 million ($32m) move for Tammy Abraham rejected by Chelsea on deadline day, Goal understands.
Abraham, who was singled out by Mauricio Pochettino to come in and deputise for Harry Kane, was keen on a switch across London but Chelsea had no interest in losing the promising forward to their fiercest local rival.
Spurs ultimately failed to sign anyone during the transfer window, which was a Premier League first since the introduction of summer and winter windows.
It is unclear whether the north London outfit will later attempt another swoop for Abraham, who is set to play in Chelsea’s Under 23 match on Friday having recently recovered from a minor injury.
The 20-year-old has impressed at international level, making his senior debut for England last year, but he has found himself behind both Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.
New Blues boss Maurizio Sarri has looked to trim his inherited Chelsea squad, too, with Tiemoue Bakayoko completing a loan move to AC Milan with a view to making it permanent following comments from the manager that his roster was 'too big'.
Abraham could yet seal a move to the Championship, with EFL clubs being allowed to loan players until the end of the month. Aston Villa are thought to be interested in securing the youngster, who made a huge impact in the division in his first loan at Bristol City during the 2016-17 campaign.
Last season, Abraham signed a new five-year deal on £50,000-a-week before spending 2017-18 on loan at Swansea City.
He has trained with Sarri’s first team this time around, however, though his route to the starting XI is blocked.
Abraham came off the bench in the 2-0 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City , having previously told Goal of his first-team ambitions in pre-season.
“Growing up as a young kid playing for Chelsea, I’ve always wanted to make it to the top and just being out here with the first team in pre-season has given me a chance to prove myself,” he said.
“The reason I go out on loan is to get that experience so when I come back to Chelsea I can claim my position. I’ll do whatever it takes and just keep doing my best.”