‘He is staying’… Fabrizio Romano has just confirmed that £51m player will not be joining Chelsea

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Fabrizio Romano has confirmed on social media that Jonathan David won’t be leaving LOSC Lille after the striker was linked with a move to Chelsea.

The £51m-rated Canadian international has once again been linked with a move away from France this January, with Chelsea joining the race in recent days according to reports.

With Aston Villa and Manchester United also linked with David, there was seemingly a good chance that the 23-year-old would head to the Premier League this winter after years of speculation.

However, according to Romano on Twitter, David won’t be going anywhere this month, with Lille not willing to let one of their best players leave so later in the January transfer window.

With Chelsea on the hunt for a top-class striker, David could have solved a lot of issues for the west London side if a deal could have been reached with Lille.

However, the Ligue 1 side have now seemingly made their stance known, with Chelsea set to miss out on yet another striking target heading into the final days of the market.

Chelsea were always in a losing battle to sign Jonathan David

Given how late a stage we are now in the January window, Chelsea attempting to pull off a deal with a brand-new target was always going to be difficult for the Blues.

Moreover, with David as coveted as he is amongst Premier League sides, there’s ever chance that Chelsea would have had to put down a premium to land the North American superstar.

Indeed, David would have been a good fit for Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play alongside the likes of Raheem Sterling and Christopher Nkunku.

However, it now appears that Chelsea just entered this race way too late, with the Blues now having think of a new plan for a striker in the final days of the market.