Chelsea staring down barrel of Carney Chukwuemeka transfer problem | OneFootball

Chelsea are likely to welcome Carney Chukwuemeka back into the fold next season, reports in Germany claim, with Borussia Dortmund opting not to pursue a permanent deal due to the eye-watering finances required.

Chukwuemeka didn't make a single Premier League squad for Chelsea during the first half of the season and was only afforded two starts across the club's various cup competitions before sealing a move to Dortmund on deadline day of the winter transfer window.

The 21-year-old midfielder made a superb start to his temporary spell in Germany, delivering a 20-minute substitute appearance in a 6-0 thrashing of Union Berlin which Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac hailed as "sensationally good".

"He'll bring us joy," Kovac continued, before crucially adding, "if he stays healthy."

Knee issues delayed Chukwuemeka's lauded debut and he has been hampered by muscular problems over the subsequent six weeks, contributing to his ongoing wait for a first Dortmund start.

Local German outlet Ruhr Nachrichten report that Dortmund have decided against persisting with Chukwuemeka beyond the end of the current campaign.

Chelsea received a €2.4m (£2m) loan fee from Dortmund and inserted a €35m (£29.4m) purchase option in the deal. If the Bundesliga outfit were to trigger that clause, Chukwuemeka would become the joint-most expensive signing in the club's history, matching the sum splashed on Ousmane Dembele from Rennes in 2016.

Enzo Maresca's blunt refusal to even consider Chukwuemeka for Premier League selection doesn't bode well in the increasingly likely event that he returns to Chelsea in the summer. "Carney is a very good player," the Italian outlined in September, "but for the amount of players we have, we decided at the beginning of the season it is probably better to leave and go somewhere, prove himself and playing 30 or 35 games than being here and play less games."

Even though Chukwuemeka eventually sealed an exit, he is highly unlikely to rack up anywhere near the game time Chelsea were hoping for. The England under-21 international still has a contract with the Blues until the summer of 2028 although where his future lies is far from certain.