Chelsea will step up their bid to sign a new midfielder, but have received no encouragement from Tottenham Hotspur after inquiring about Yves Bissouma.
Tottenham do not want to sell Bissouma this month and have so far shown no interest in a deal that would see Hakim Ziyech move in the opposite direction.
Chelsea are closing in on the signing of winger Noni Madueke after having an offer worth £35 million accepted by PSV Eindhoven that will place more doubt over Ziyech’s future.
Madueke is poised to become Chelsea’s 15th signing since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover of the club, but the Blues still want to add a midfielder to head coach Graham Potter’s squad.
Having had a bid for Enzo Fernández rejected by Benfica and being told that Brighton want more than £65m for Moises Caicedo after having a £55m offer turned down, Chelsea have been forced to consider other midfield options.
One of those is Bissouma, who has failed to hold down a regular place under Antonio Conte at Tottenham and is well liked by his former Brighton manager Potter.
But Tottenham have so far rejected Chelsea’s enquiries and are currently insistent Bissouma will not be allowed to move to Stamford Bridge in January.
It is believed Chelsea would be prepared to let Ziyech move to Spurs in order to sign Bissouma, but that has not changed Tottenham’s stance.
Another midfielder Chelsea could look towards, possibly as a short-term fix, is Barcelona’s out-of-favour Ivory Coast international Franck Kessie but the club are not believed to be pursuing Weston McKennie, who is expected to leave Juventus this month.
Having agreed a fee with PSV, Chelsea will hold talks with Madueke over personal terms ahead of putting the player through a medical and the expectation from Holland is that the 20-year-old will complete a transfer.
Madueke is a former Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur youth player who moved to PSV in 2018 and predominantly plays off the right wing.
Telegraph Sport revealed this week that Chelsea’s spending has set off alarm bells inside their highly-rated academy and the move for Madueke will only heighten concerns that the club’s home-grown prospects could find their paths to the first-team blocked.
Having signed Joao Felix on loan and Mudryk last week, the impending arrival of Madueke will increase Chelsea’s need to start their planned clear-out as quickly as possible.
Ziyech is one of a number of players Chelsea will listen to bids for and the Morocco international could attract the interest of his old club Ajax.
There also remains the possibility of Chelsea signing a new back-up right-back before this month’s transfer window closes, despite the fact Reece James is on his way back from injury.