Ajax reportedly refused to sell Chelsea target Edson Alvarez as they had already sold too many players.
The Blues were looking to sign the 24-year-old in the final two days of the transfer window as they looked to strengthen their midfield.
Chelsea submitted a €50m (£43m) offer to sign the defensive midfielder, who was refusing to train in a bid to force through a move to Stamford Bridge.
However, according to the Daily Mail, Alvarez was told he would not be allowed to depart when he met on Thursday with Ajax technical manager Gerry Hamstra and former striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as well as another member of staff.
The Mexico international was told that the Eredivise champions could not sign a replacement as the Dutch market closed on Wednesday night, while head coach Alfred Schreuder felt his side had already sold too many players.
Ryan Gravenberch, Sebastian Haller and Nicolas Tagliafico were all sold over the course of the summer transfer window, while Antony and Lisandro Martinez secured moves to Manchester United.
Although they were unable to sign Alvarez, Chelsea managed to bolster their midfield with the loan addition of Denis Zakaria from Juventus.
