Chelsea will reportedly try to trigger the buy option in Saul Niguez's loan deal despite the sanctions placed on the club and Roman Abramovich.
With the Russian oligarch having his assets frozen amid the invasion of Ukraine, Chelsea cannot sign new players or renew contracts with the sanctions in place.
Saul arrived in London from Atletico Madrid on loan in the summer, with the Blues understood to possess a £29.3m option-to-buy clause to make the deal permanent in the summer.
The 27-year-old has largely struggled to make his mark at Stamford Bridge, though, and the expectation was that he would head back to Atletico for the 2022-23 season.
However, The Mirror claims that Thomas Tuchel wants Saul to stick around, and Chelsea will fork out the agreed £29.3m to sign the midfielder should they be permitted to do so.
Saul has registered just one goal in 20 games for Chelsea in the 2021-22 season, but he played the full 90 minutes in recent victories over Burnley and Norwich City.
Ben Knapton
