Chelsea defender Baba Rahman turned down a chance to join Burnley on loan

Chelsea defender Baba Rahman refused a last-minute attempt by Premier League side Burnley to sign him as he edges closer to a permanent exit at Stamford Bridge.

The Ghanaian is determined to break free from Chelsea and flatly turned down a chance to have another taste of Premier League football when he was offered Burnley on Thursday afternoon, hours before the Premier League transfer closed.

His teammate Danny Drinkwater, however, grabbed the opportunity and joined the Claret in a short term deal that is aimed at getting his career back on track.

Rahman and his team have been in long negotiations with Chelsea who are willing to extend his contract before sending him out on loan again, but there is a strong feeling that it’s time to cut ties and seek new challenges after what has been a frustrating period for the left-back who was tagged as one of the best just a few seasons ago.

Burnley were looking to provide competition for Charlie Taylor but Rahman is looking for a team that can guarantee him playing time as he feels this season will be pivotal for his career after finally recovering from meniscus damage that threatened to throw away all his footballing ability.

He played the last part of last season at French club Reims where he was a massive hit, scoring a solo goal and against PSG and assisting two of the others that night.

He further proved his return to form with a solid performance for Ghana in the just-ended Africa Cup of Nations where he emerged as one of the few players to have made a significant contribution to the Black Stars. He assisted both goals as the Stars beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 to gain promotion to the next round of the competition where they surprisingly crashed out at the hands of Tunisia.

Former Chelsea football director Michael Emenalo is said to be monitoring Baba’s situation at Chelsea and will not hesitate to take with to Monaco this summer. There is also interest from German clubs and Turkish clubs who are willing to offer loan deals but the playing is digging on securing a deal that will guarantee him at least 25 league games this season.