Montpellier have turned down Chelsea's €25 million (£21m) bid for French Under-21 forward Elye Wahi, but more talks are expected amid reported interest from Tottenham.
Wahi, who scored 19 goals in Ligue 1 last season and has three caps for France's U-21 side, has attracted interest from a number of top clubs across Europe.
Atletico Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham have all been linked, but Chelsea were thought to be favourites to sign the striker.
However, the Blues will have to up their offer after Montpellier president Laurent Niccolin told Midi Libre: "The amount proposed was not up to our expectations."
According to Midi Libre, Tottenham could now be set to bid for the striker, though L'Equipe claim Chelsea will continue talks over his signing.
If they sign him, Chelsea are expected to loan the 20-year-old to Strasbourg, recently taken over by Blues owner Todd Boehly.
Spurs, meanwhile, are keeping tabs on strikers amid uncertainty surrounding the future of Harry Kane.
More Chelsea news
Chelsea transfer news is starting to gather pace.
Having already signed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson in attack, the Blues have been linked with a sensational swoop for Kylian Mbappe. The two-time European champions are still trying to offload Romelu Lukaku, though, with the striker thought to favour a move to Juventus.
Meanwhile, Chelsea could bring academy graduate Marc Guehi back to Stamford Bridge – just two years after selling the defender to Crystal Palace.
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