Chelsea are said to want a world-record fee in excess of £200 million if they are to sell Eden Hazard this summer.
Real Madrid remain the favoured destination for Hazard but Chelsea will not sell their star man cheaply and know the price tag will act as a deterrent at this stage of the window.
Hazard is not pushing for a move and Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri is keen to work with him and Willian, who has missed out on a move to Barcelona.
However, there is growing concern that the Belgian will not extend his contract at Stamford Bridge. He has two years remaining on his current deal but has stalled on signing new terms worth £300,000-a-week.
Chelsea will also have to fix their goalkeeping situation once Real Madrid target Thibaut Courtois returns from holiday.
Courtois has just one year left on his contract and is refusing to even meet with Chelsea over a new deal.
With his family leaving in Madrid, Courtois seems destined to trade the blue of Chelsea for the white of Real Madrid this summer.
So who will Chelsea replace Courtois with? There are rumors of Jordan Pickford, but that will be expensive for England’s No.1. Cheaper options could be Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel and Stoke’s Jack Butland.
One dark horse could see Real Madrid’s Keylor Navas move to Stamford Bridge in a swap deal between the two clubs.
In other Chelsea transfer news, the Blues are continuing talks with Juventus for defenders Daniele Rugani and Matteo Caldara.
They remain keen on Gonzalo Higuain but face competition from AC Milan, who like Chelsea pair Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Morata is likely to leave should Higuain arrive, which would allow for a three-way deal where by Milan back away from the Juventus striker in order to get their hands on the Spaniard.
