Loic Remy to Leicester City: Chelsea pull plug as Radamel Falcao exit falters

The Blues had previously indicated they were willing to allow the 29-year-old leave Stamford Bridge

Loic Remy celebrates scoring during the defeat to Leicester City, whom he almost joined on the following transfer deadline day (Getty)

Leicester City’s pursuit of Loïc Rémy, the France international striker whom they wanted to sign on loan, was scuppered after Chelsea elected to pull the plug last night.

The Blues had previously indicated they were willing to allow the 29-year-old to leave Stamford Bridge following the arrival of Alexandre Pato on a temporary deal from Corinthians earlier in the window.

Rémy was expected to fly into Leicester on the personal helicopter belonging to Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha but strong gales meant the vehicle was grounded. The move was still expected to be completed, however, until the option of getting Monaco loanee Radamel Falcao off the wage bill presented itself to the Blues hierarchy.

The Columbian’s former club Atlético Madrid were interested in giving Falcao a route out of his nightmare in English football but the deal proved too complex to complete in time for the 11pm deadline.

For Leicester, it was too late to resurrect the Rémy deal, leaving the Premier League leaders with just three strikers for the upcoming run-in. Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa will be expected to provide the goals to continue their unlikely title bid.

Andrej Kramarić, on loan to Hoffenheim, is believed to have a recall option written into his agreement with the Bundesliga outfit but the Foxes remain frustrated nonetheless by their failure to add firepower to their ranks.

Another option was CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa but the £22m asking fee proved too steep for Leicester chiefs to justify. The 23-year-old has scored 10 goals in 29 appearances this season and possesses the brand of versatility sought after by the now-acclaimed Leicester scouting network. CSKA, however, never truly feared they would lose the Nigerian captain this soon after he agreed a new contract last summer.

Claudio Ranieri has completed a trio of transfers during this window. Demarai Gray signed from Birmingham City for £3.7m before Copenhagen’s Daniel Amartey followed the England under-21s star to the King Power Stadium for £5m. Denmark youth-level international goalkeeper Daniel Iversen also joined from Esbjerg last week.