Schalke 04 sporting director Christian Heidel told German tabloid Bild that they have indeed rejected a Chelsea approach for Sead Kolašinac, and did so pretty much as soon as Chelsea knocked on their door.
“Yes, there was an offer [from Chelsea], but it was off the table immediately.”
-Christian Heidel; source: Bild via Metro
While that doesn’t quite match the timeline of the rumors — i.e. the rumors had some time to fester before the rumors denying the previous rumors started to appear — but the end result is the same: the 23-year-old defender is not coming to Chelsea and he’s staying with Schalke to see his contract out to the bitter end.
Kolašinac’s contract is expiring this summer and with no renewal in sight, Chelsea looked to steal a bargain by signing the Bosnian international today for around €6m, partially as a replacement for the outgoing Branislav Ivanović. Alas, Schalke are willing to eat the minor profit in favor of keeping their starting left back as they attempt to solidify their disappointing Bundesliga campaign.
Perhaps we’ll return in the summer, alongside a whole host of expected suitors, including Juventus.