Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly interested in reuniting with Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris this summer.
Following an error-strewn 2022-23 Premier League campaign in which he made a division-high four mistakes leading to a goal, Lloris's Tottenham career is coming to a close.
The former France international now has less than a year left to run on his contract in North London and has been bumped down the pecking order following the arrival of Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli.
With Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman also battling for minutes, Lloris has been ostracised from the first-team group and is yet to make a matchday squad under Ange Postecoglou.
Several options were believed to be on the table for the 36-year-old amid his well-documented desire to leave, and according to The Telegraph, Chelsea did briefly weigh up a swoop.
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The Blues waved goodbye to former number one Edouard Mendy on a permanent transfer to Al-Ahli, while Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Real Madrid on loan following Thibaut Courtois's ACL injury.
Furthermore, Gabriel Slonina has been loaned out to Belgian side Eupen for the ongoing campaign, while Marcus Bettinelli has spent months on the sidelines with an unexplained issue.
Chelsea moved quickly to bring in Robert Sanchez from Brighton & Hove Albion as their new number one, and the report claims that Lloris was under consideration as a backup option.
The ex-Lyon man formed a strong bond with Pochettino during their time together at Tottenham, but goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts recommended Djordje Petrovic instead.
Having been given the green light by Behdad Eghbali, Chelsea agreed a deal with New England Revolution for Petrovic, leaving Lloris without an exit route from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium heading into the final knockings of the window.
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The Frenchman was supposedly offered a triple-your-money contract to join an unnamed team in Saudi Arabia, but he does not want to leave Europe just yet, in spite of his advancing years.
A return to Nice - whom he represented for 11 years between 1997 and 2008 - was mooted, and Les Aiglons are said to have offered him a contract on deadline day after terminating Kasper Schmeichel's deal.
However, Lloris ultimately rejected Nice's proposal, while he also turned his nose up to a move to Newcastle United upon learning that he would be playing second fiddle to Nick Pope.
While a move to another English club is now off the cards until January at least, teams in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Belgium and Greece can still try for Lloris's signature until their respective transfer windows close later this month.
The veteran goalkeeper boasts 151 clean sheets from 447 matches in a Tottenham shirt since leaving Lyon in 2012, but he has not won a single major trophy during his time in North London.
Ben Knapton
