Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, who has been told he is no longer wanted by the club, finds himself in limbo, though Manchester United and Juventus are both ready to battle over his signature.
United's £40 million move for Matic looked set to go ahead earlier in the transfer window but the Blues stalled the deal after they lost out to them for Romelu Lukaku.
Dabblebet: Bet on Chelsea's pre-season Asia tour
Jose Mourinho is keen to see Matic join the Europa League champions and the club are willing to outbid the competition to secure the Serbia international.
Meanwhile, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has instructed his club to chase Matic for the second summer in a row but the Italian champions refuse to pay as much as the English side.
Chelsea's dealings with the Italians are complicated further by the fact that the Serie A champions are desperate not to sell Alex Sandro after a negative fan reaction to losing Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan. Juventus are not interested in swapping Sandro for Matic and are hoping to secure the 28-year-old in a separate deal.
Getty
Inter and Arsenal have also been linked with a deal for Matic, but Goal understands that they are not seriously interested in him.
How Chelsea will line up with Morata
Chelsea have since gone on their pre-season tour of Asia and left Matic behind to train alone at Cobham Training Centre.
Diego Costa has also been left out of the pre-season group and he is closer to his exit from Stamford Bridge after Chelsea made the breakthrough to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for around £60m.
Matic was happy to remain as a Chelsea player and had even bought a new house in London after winning the Premier League title with the club for the second time. However, he is now ready to move after he was told that he is no longer wanted.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)