Ligue 1 Side Issue Chelsea 'Hands-Off' Warning With Bid Rejected for Wonderkid

Saint-Etienne Reject Chelsea Move for Star Prospect

Chelsea have been well-versed in the world of procuring young talent for their future generations, and this winter window may look no different from others wherein the Blues have brought in several youthful faces.

However, their pursuit of one talent hailing from the French leagues appears to have hit a stumbling block, with Saint-Etienne rejecting an opening bid from the West London outfit for the services of their player.

🚨 Saint-Etienne have rejected an initial offer of €8M from Chelsea for 17-year old wonderkid Djylian N'Guessan.

They would consider selling the French U20 striker for €12.5m - which works out at around £11M.

Brentford and Arsenal have also been tracking the player's… pic.twitter.com/LI7YFCQwBr

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 19, 2025

N'Guessan Going Nowhere Fast - Chelsea See Bid Rejected

The player in question is 17-year-old striker Djylian N'Guessan, hailing out of the Saint-Etienne academy.

The talented forward made nine appearances for the club last season as they were relegated down into Ligue 2, and has made just one more appearance in the league this season amidst impressive performances out of the academy, whilst also scoring his first senior goal for the club in the Coupe de France against Quetigny AS in a 3-1 win.

The 10 youngest players featured in Europe's top 5 leagues this season:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
🇫🇷Djylian N'Guessan (Saint-Étienne)
🇫🇷Ibrahim Mbaye (PSG)
🇮🇹Honest Ahanor (Genoa)
🇮🇹Francesco Camarda (Milan)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Jake Evans (Leicester)
🇪🇸David Otorbi (Valencia)
🇫🇷Ayyoub Bouaddi… pic.twitter.com/L83FEVli0y

— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) May 29, 2025

The forward, who is comfortable operating both centrally and in wider positions, has been earmarked for his remarkable pace and creative flair and was subjected to a bid by Chelsea ahead of the winter window. This bid was believed to be around the £8m mark, but Saint-Etienne have rejected the move with hopes of holding out for a sum closer to £11m.

If the move does go through, then N'Guessan would become Chelsea's 11th overall signing of the season and the 51st since the arrival of Jorrel Hato earlier this summer under the guise of new owner Todd Boehly.