Leicester City have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.

What's the story?

The highly-rated 25-year-old was linked with a move to the Foxes over the summer as manager Brendan Rodgers searched for extra reinforcements at centre-back, but he ultimately ended up staying put.

And now, well-known journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Tah put pen to paper on a new contract with Leverkusen, extending his stay with the German outfit until 2025 and ending any potential lingering hopes Leicester's hierarchy had of resurrecting a deal.

He tweeted: "Jonathan Tah has officially signed his contract extension with Bayer Leverkusen until June 2025. The centre back was in Leicester City list months ago."

Brendan Rodgers will be gutted

Although the Midlands outfit successfully brought in former Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard in the previous window, Rodgers is still likely to be gutted to see Tah commit his future to Die Werkself.

With Jonny Evans set to turn 34 in January, Caglar Soyuncu struggling for form and Wesley Fofana not set to return from a potentially career-changing injury for many months, further additions at the heart of defence may be required either in January or the summer.

Since arriving at Leverkusen back in 2015, Tah has established himself as one of the Bundesliga's top centre-backs, making 223 appearances for the BayArena outfit in all competitions.

His impressive performances have earned the German 13 senior caps at international level, highlighting the top-level quality he possesses.

After bursting onto the scene six years ago, Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Völler was quick to praise his new wondered, saying: “Jonathan is quick, technically gifted but still robust. And he can still improve in all areas of his game.”

Tah has indeed improved his game since Völler's complimentary assessment, and his composure on the ball combined with his natural speed and strength would have made him an ideal fit for the Premier League.

Nevertheless, the 6ft 3 gem will now remain in his homeland for the foreseeable future, meaning Leicester will have to move on to alternative targets.

And, in other news...Rodgers could re-sign £40.5m-rated gem likened to Coutinho, LCFC fans will be buzzing