Chelsea dealt blow in Paulo Dybala pursuit as move for Argentina and Roma forward delayed following injury setback

The Blues, who were keen on signing the World Cup-winning Argentina star in the January transfer window to bolster their attack, could now face a delay in their pursuit of the player after he picked up a muscular injury during AS Roma's Coppa Italia quarter-final clash against Lazio on Wednesday, according to Tuttomercatoweb.

Jose Mourinho was forced to take his star attacker off at half-time which proved to be a massive blow to the team as they eventually went down 1-0 against their rivals and were knocked out of the competition. This will surely force the Blues to cool off their interest in the player for now. They were planning to complete his transfer by the middle of this month.

Despite enjoying a good run of form - having scored five goals and provided six assists in 13 Serie A matches - the former Juventus star has been plagued with multiple injuries throughout the 2023/24 season. He has missed as many as nine matches thus far due to groin, ligament, and hamstring injuries.

Mauricio Pochettino's side will now look for alternate options and have players like Ivan Toney, Victor Osimhen and Evan Ferguson on their shortlist. They will be next seen in action on Saturday as they face Fulham in the Premier League.