Bayern Munich Rejects Chelsea's Bid for Rafinha Due to Need for Squad Depth

Chelsea's last-minute pursuit of Bayern Munich full-back Rafinha has been rebuffed by the Bundesliga outfit.

Chelsea's last-minute pursuit of Bayern Munich full-back Rafinha has been rebuffed by the Bundesliga outfit as they remain eager to keep hold of the 31-year-old for squad depth.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is keen on creating competition for Victor Moses and with Rafinha staring down the barrel of a lack of game time at Bayern Munich, it seemed a sensible approach for the English champions - however Bild claim the Bavarian club are unlikely to offload the full-back this summer. 

According to the German news outlet, Bayern are not willing to enter into negotiations for Rafinha who has a good relationship with manager, Carlo Ancelotti, and he understood to be seen as a valuable squad player behind first-team regulars, David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich. 

With Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain opting for a transfer to Liverpool, the Blues remain in the market for defensive reinforcement, and despite making an official offer for the defender, Rafinha looks set to run down the last 10 months of his contract at the Allianz Arena before seemingly departing the club on a free transfer next summer. 

Despite playing a key role at Bayern for a number of seasons following his move from Genoa in 2011, the rise of Kimmich has pushed Rafinha back in the pecking order which resulted in the 31-year-old making only 10 starting appearances in the Bundesliga last season.

Although Rafinha only has 23 minutes under his belt in the Bundesliga so far this season, Bayern look set to stand firm on the stance that the 31-year-old is going nowhere this summer.