West Bromwich Albion have been handed a setback in their bid to bring Trevoh Chalobah to The Hawthorns this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that, while the chances of Valerien Ismael getting a deal over the line for the Chelsea defensive midfielder this summer at not quite dead in the water, they are severely receding.

This is likely down to the fact that newly-promoted Premier League side Brentford have been credited with an interest in the 22-year-old, as have a number of top-flight and European teams.

Ismael surely fuming

Considering how few options Ismael currently has in the middle of the park at West Brom, as well as the fact it previously appeared as if the Baggies were close to securing a deal for Chalobah this summer, the fact that the Chelsea midfielder now appears to be slipping out of the club's grasp is sure to have left the Frenchman furious.

And, having highly impressed during his loan spell at FC Lorient last season, the 22-year-old would appear to have been a fantastic addition to the Albion midfield ahead of next season, particularly as it had been reported Thomas Tuchel's side are willing to let the former England U21 international leave for nothing.

Indeed, over his 29 Ligue 1 appearances for Christophe Pelissier's side last term, the £12k-per-week midfielder made an average of 2.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.9 clearances and won 5.2 duels per game.

The man Paul Lambert dubbed a "complete" player also impressed going forwards, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots and making 0.3 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the £3.15m-rated man earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as Lorient's joint fourth-best performer in the top flight of French football, playing a key role in his side securing survival in the division.

As such, it is clear that Chalobah would have indeed made a fine addition to Ismael's options in central midfield, however, unless something drastically changes in the coming days, it seems the 22-year-old will not be playing his football at The Hawthorns next season.

In other news: Ismael facing West Brom nightmare as Madeley makes worrying transfer claim