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Chelsea have decided against buying Saul Niguez on a permanent deal in the summer, according to Spanish outlet Sport.
The midfielder joined the Blues on a season-long loan deal from Atletico Madrid last summer. However, his time with the London side has been disastrous, to say the least.
Overseeing just about 700 minutes of action all season across all competitions, Saul has well and truly struggled to force his way into the side.
He's looked out of depth, causing manager Thomas Tuchel to hook him off on all three of his Premier League starts.
The 27-year-old's performances in cup games have been far better as he has shown signs of improvement of late. But that won't be enough to convince the Blues to fork out a hefty £30 million to make his move permanent.
Saul hasn't scored or assisted for the side yet, although Tuchel insisted last month that he could still play an important role in the side.
However, those claims don't hold much water after the player only got to see 44 minutes of action in their Club World Cup campaign. He came off the bench in the final against Palmeiras but struggled to make any notable impact once again.
As things stand, Saul is headed back to Madrid after the end of the season.
Saul will end up among Chelsea's worst signings
Unless there's a monumental change in his form, Saul will go down in Chelsea's history as one of the worst signings of all time.
A talented midfielder with an eye for goal, the Spaniard simply hasn't been able to adapt to new surroundings, looking like a fish out of water.
Fans have seen enough of him, while there were rumors the club were contemplating terminating his loan deal in January too.
Luckily for Chelsea, he's only here temporarily, and they've now reportedly decided to send him to the Spanish capital in the summer.
This ain't the first time the Blues haven't had much luck with their new signing, having wasted enormous sums in the past over deals that crashed mightily.
Saul only arrived on a decent £3.4 million loan fee but will still end up among the lost list of Chelsea flops.
