Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe has allegedly snubbed interest from Chelsea to remain at the Parc des Princes this summer.
The France international established himself as a regular fixture in Thomas Tuchel's Parisiens side and has since formed an effective partnership with Marquinhos at the back following Thiago Silva's departure.
Kimpembe made 41 appearances across all competitions under Mauricio Pochettino last season and has been frequently used in a back three by Christophe Galtier in pre-season.
Despite collecting his sixth Ligue 1 title with PSG last term, Kimpembe has nevertheless been linked with an exit as Tuchel seeks to reunite with the 26-year-old at Stamford Bridge.
With the centre-back only having two years left to run on his deal at the Parc des Princes, there was optimism that a £42m fee could have been enough to secure his signature.
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PSG boss Galtier also refused to fully shut the door on a transfer for the Frenchman, telling L'Equipe: "I've read everything that has been said about Kimpembe. We even laughed about it together! I like him – he's a great centre-back but what will happen, I don't know."
However, French outlet Le 10 Sport now affirms that Kimpembe has elected to stay in the French capital this summer, dealing another bitter blow to Tuchel's search for defensive reinforcements.
The report adds that the defender was weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of a possible exit from PSG, but football advisor Luis Campos made a direct plea for him to stay.
Chelsea are said to have made direct contact with Kimpembe in a bid to lure him away from his homeland, but Tuchel's side never tabled an official offer to the Ligue 1 champions.
As a result, Kimpembe will continue his journey with PSG, where he has amassed three goals and two assists in 221 matches after joining the club's youth academy in 2005.
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PSG have confirmed the signing of Nordi Mukiele to compete for a centre-back or wing-back spot, but Kimpembe will seemingly form a first-choice back-three alongside Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos for the start of the 2022-23 season.
News of Kimpembe's stance comes after Barcelona supposedly reached an agreement to sign Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, who has been a long-term target of Chelsea's.
Tuchel has managed to acquire the services of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, but he is yet to sign a second centre-back to accommodate the losses of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
A move for ex-Chelsea man Nathan Ake did not materialise either, and the Blues are also reported to have rejected the chance to sign Kimpembe's PSG teammate Thilo Kehrer.
Cesar Azpilicueta's future also remains up in the air, but Chelsea are supposedly prepared to block the Spaniard from joining Barcelona after the Catalan giants successfully hijacked moves for Kounde and Raphinha.
Ben Knapton
