Chelsea's hopes of a late transfer window signing have been rocked by the news surrounding both Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez and Sevilla's Jules Kounde.
Having set out the terms for Saul, Atleti have had little response to their demands to add in a £34m (€40m) obligation to buy the 26-year-old. However, there remains a glimmer of hope if Chelsea meet their demands before the close of play.
Meanwhile, in a press conference in Seville, club director Monchi has confirmed that Chelsea have missed an important deadline and must now pay the €80m (£68m) release clause for Kounde.
What did Monchi say?
"Kounde can leave before midnight if anybody pays his clause, then we can do nothing. He has the same chance to leave as all his teammates," Monchi said.
"The only offer from Chelsea for Kounde was last Wednesday at around 5pm for an amount we didn't like. It was linked to Chelsea selling a player. It was a decent fee but it didn't meet our criteria.
"We responded with a counter-offer which had a deadline of Friday, to allow us to be able to sign a replacement. They did not respond to that counter-offer before Friday. Kounde's clause never went up to €90m. It has always been €80m.
"We all decided that it was best Jules didn't travel to Elche. It's normal for players to be affected by news of any kind. Last year he had the interest from City and now Chelsea this year."
Will Chelsea sign anyone?
The transfer window shuts at 11pm in the United Kingdom, leaving Chelsea with little time to seek alternative options.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been told that he is staying and Ethan Ampadu could also remain at the club to add depth to Thomas Tuchel's side.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has had a concrete offer from Borussia Dortmund over a loan move. Even though Hudson-Odoi has been an unused substitute in Chelsea's first three league games, his move looks set to be blocked.
Elsewhere, Chelsea will try to offload Malang Sarr, Ross Barkley and Lewis Baker on loan. Eintracht Frankfurt are known to have contacted Sarr over a possible move.
Chelsea youngster Thierno Ballo has completed a medical ahead of a season-long loan move to Rapid Vienna in his native Austria. Tino Anjorin will move on loan to Lokomotiv Moscow, after Chelsea accepted a bid that includes a £17m option to buy.
These lack of deals would leave Chelsea making a net profit of around £35m after this transfer window, having only signed Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Bettinelli.
Further reading
- Why Chilwell is being left out by Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea
- Defence wins titles: Chelsea prove credentials in 10 man Liverpool draw
- Liverpool condemn homophobic Chelsea chants
