Chelsea have been forced to rescind their decision on sending Trevoh Chalobah on loan, after Thomas Tuchel deemed the defender crucial for this season’s title quest.
The Cobham academy star has seen his hard work rewarded with a role in the first-team set-up after taking his chance under the German coach.
The 22-year-old has been linked to a host of clubs in Europe, with the likes of Valencia and Lille seemingly knocked back as a result of talks to extend his Chelsea stay.
The Blues chiefs are now prepared to meet with his representatives to have him sign the dotted lines with less than two years left to run on his current deal.
The west Londoners academy graduate has always been rated highly internally at Stamford Bridge but hasn’t had as much attention externally as others coming through the system.
Chalobah spent two seasons on loan at Ipswich and Huddersfield in the Championship and impressed on loan in Ligue 1 with Lorient.
Upon his return, he stood out in three consecutive pre-season matches against Arsenal, Tottenham and Bournemouth.
The defender was still set to move on loan for another season but his 120-minute performance against Villarreal followed by his goalscoring Premier League debut against Crystal Palace had forced the club to do a double-check on his future.