Chelsea and Russian side Dynamo Moscow had reached an agreement for Dynamo Moscow winger Arsen Zakharyan, but the move fell through due to the UK sanctions on Russia.

Chelsea are believed to have been following him for much of the year.

Chelsea were expected to sign the 19-year-old Russian midfielder who’s seen as one of Russia’s most talented young players.

Chelsea had activated the midfielder’s £12.6m release clause, but with Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, the deal didn’t go through.

It has been agreed that talks with Dynamo would be revisited in January.

Zakharyan has admitted that his teammates have been joking about the incident since the close of the transfer.

Asked how his teammates took to the story, Zakharyan laughed: “They teased me. They joked in the locker room.

“I try and work one hundred percent. Now I’m getting in shape, as I missed part of the preseason a little bit.”

On Chelsea’s attempt, Zakharyan added: “I knew they were interested in me before. It was winter. Of course, it’s nice that such big clubs are following me. I will try more. Yes, something is not working right now, there is criticism against me, but I understand everything.

“I will try to correct the situation.”