Chelsea have missed the deadline to confirm the signing of Gonzalo Higuain, meaning the Argentine striker will not be available to face Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend.
Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is set to be reunited with the striker who scored 38 goals for him at Napoli during the 2015-16 season. Juventus striker Higuain, who is currently on loan at AC Milan, is flying to London to complete a deal.
The move looks very likely to be completed this month but Chelsea have now lost a race against time to get him eligible for the game at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.
Chelsea had until midday on Friday to get the deal done but the deadline has now expired.
It is now likely Higuain will make his debut on Thursday night in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final second leg with Tottenham.
Earlier this week, the Blues reached an outline agreement with Juventus to loan Higuain until the end of the season with an option to extend for a further year.
The extension will be triggered by Higuain reaching a certain number of appearances and goals.
The 31-year-old will cut short his loan with AC Milan, but the San Siro outfit are keen to secure a replacement before ending the deal — something which may frustrate Chelsea.
Chelsea have offered Michy Batshuayi in negotiations with Milan but his preference is to go to Monaco. Genoa striker Krzysztof Piatek remains Milan's priority.
Higuain featured as a second-half substitute against his parent club on Wednesday night as Milan were beaten 1-0 by Juventus in the Italian Super Cup final in Jeddah.