Chelsea have allegedly seen a second bid for Leicester City's Wesley Fofana worth more than £70m rejected by the Foxes.
Fofana is understood to have been identified as the Blues' top target to bolster their backline for the remainder of the window, but Leicester are in a strong negotiating position.
Brendan Rodgers's side tied the 21-year-old down to a new long-term contract only a few months ago, and his current terms are due to run until the summer of 2027.
Nevertheless, Chelsea are refusing to wave the white flag in their pursuit of Fofana after seeing an initial bid - thought to be in the region of £60m - swiftly rebuffed.
Foxes boss Rodgers affirmed earlier this week that the former Saint-Etienne youngster was not for sale, telling a press conference: "These players [Fofana and James Maddison] are not for sale. These are very important players to us.
© Reuters
"We're in a situation where we need to move some players out but that doesn't mean getting rid of anyone and everyone, and especially not our best assets.
"You don't want to lose your top players, this is something that the club are very strong on. At this moment in time, James and Wesley are training very hard and getting ready for our game on Sunday."
Undeterred by Rodgers's comments, Chelsea submitted a new bid worth in excess of £70m for Fofana, according to Fabrizio Romano, but once again, Leicester blocked their advances.
Romano adds that Fofana would "100%" be open to a switch to Thomas Tuchel's side, and the Blues could still try again for the former Saint-Etienne youngster.
Fofana's fledgling career was temporarily derailed by a devastating fibula fracture last summer, and he was restricted to just 12 appearances in all competitions during the 2021-22 season.
© Reuters
Fofana has now totalled one goal and one assist in 50 games for Leicester since joining for £31.5m in 2020, and he played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final.
After losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, Chelsea quickly responded by bringing in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli to reinforce the backline.
Moves for Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt and Presnel Kimpembe failed to materialise, but Chelsea beat Manchester City to the signing of Marc Cucurella - who can play in a back three - in a deal that could eventually fetch £62m.
Cesar Azpilicueta has also agreed a new contract at the club until the summer of 2024, which has lessened Tuchel's immediate need for another centre-back in the coming weeks.
Cucurella's arrival at Stamford Bridge could open the door for both Malang Sarr and Marcos Alonso to leave, with the former understood to be a target for both Fulham and Monaco.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are reportedly edging closer to the capture of Alonso, who would be eligible to leave Chelsea on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Ben Knapton
