Barcelona suffer new transfer blow as Jean Michael Seri rules out January exit from Nice

Barcelona's hopes of luring Jean Michael Seri to the Nou Camp during the January transfer window have been all-but extinguished with the Ivory Coast midfielder vowing to continue at OGC Nice until the end of the season.

Seri, 26, was expected to leave the Ligue 1 side during the summer transfer window after proving to be one of the sensations of the French league last season, scoring six goals and provided nine assists to help Nice to finish third in the table.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and AS Roma were linked with his services but it was said that Barcelona were ready to beat all them for his services by meeting his €40m (£35.3m, $47.8m) release clause.

Seri then even admitted that playing for Barcelona was a childhood dream but the move collapsed after the Catalans surprisingly abandoned their pursuit at the very last minute due to mysterious reasons.

The midfielder then attacked Nice for blocking the move but club president Jean-Pierre Reiviere later explained that it was eventually Barcelona the one who backed out of the proposed deal.

Last week Sport reported that Barcelona were "seriously" considering reviving the saga and completing his signing during the coming January transfer window.

The Spanish publication said that the midfielder remains a priority for Ernesto Valverde with the Catalans expecting to send Arda Turan to China in January to make space for the Ivory Coast an in the manager's ranks.

Sport suggested that Barcelona could complete the signing for the same €40m terms agreed during the summer as Seri remains keen on his dream move to the Nou Camp.

However, the Ivory Coast midfielder has assured that he would eventually turned down an offer from Barcelona or any other club in January as he wants to continue at Nice until the end of the season.

"I won't leave Nice before June regardless of any club asking for me this winter," Seri said in a press conference as quoted by Le Figaro. "It will take more than that to change my mind. A top footballer can't afford to continue thinking about that sort of thing. It is now over and you need to look to the future and to making history with this club."