Chelsea are having second thoughts about signing Mateo Kovacic now that Maurizio Sarri is on the verge of joining Juventus.
The Blues can buy the midfielder on a permanent basis from Real Madrid this summer even if their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Fifa's two-window transfer ban fails or isn't frozen in time.
As Kovacic, who joined Chelsea on a season-long loan from Real Madrid last summer, is already registered with the squad he won't be considered a new addition if he stays on.
The Croatia international was a regular member of the first team under Sarri, making a total of 51 appearances in all competitions, but regularly failed to impress, ending with a terrible record for the campaign of just two assists and not a single goal to his name.
The agent of Tiemoue Bakayoko, who joined Chelsea from Marseille for £40m in 2017, has already claimed the France international is returning to Stamford Bridge from a loan spell at AC Milan and he can potentially fill some of the void.
If Chelsea want to keep Kovacic, they have to finalise it before the end of this month because his registration will return to Real Madrid in July. As Standard Sport revealed on Friday, Chelsea significantly insisted on leaving him out of negotiations with La Liga club over the sale of Eden Hazard.
Inter Milan, where Kovacic played between 2013-15, have become aware of Chelsea's hesitation and have opened talks with Real to buy him back.