Chelsea are set to lose out on FC Porto's Alvaro Pereira, with the left-sided utility player close to agreeing a deal to move to Italian side Napoli.
According to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, Pereira will move for an initial season-long loan, with an option for a permanent move next year for £7 million ($11 million).
Chelsea's move for Pereira, when Andre Villas-Boas was in charge at Stamford Bridge, was cancelled in the last minute in the previous summer, but Robert Di Matteo was still reported to be interested in making a move.
However, it looks like, with Chelsea covered in the left-back position thanks to the emergence of Ryan Bertrand as a back-up to Ashley Cole, Di Matteo has let the signing go, with buying a right-back for the new season the more pressing situation.
Cesar Azpilicueta is closing in on a move, but the signing has been held up over Marseille's reported demand of a £10 million ($15.7 million) fee for the Spanish international defender. Marseille, however, have admitted they will need to sell some of their players, if they are to bring in some new faces for the next season.
Chelsea youngster Gael Kakuta has admitted he is desperate to make a move to his native France to play regularly. "My decision is final," Kakuta told L'Equipe. "This is an important time in my career. It's better for me to leave the club and find one where I could play more matches. I need to play.
"In hindsight, I think the Ligue 1 will do me good. Marseille are one that I like. In France, Marseille is up there with Lille and Lyon, two of three clubs that I'm interested in most.
"I'm not worried about Marseille. With the players they have, the club is not finished. In the coming months, the club will start to shine."
Chelsea could use Kakuta, who has found first-team appearances at Stamford Bridge hard to come by, to sweeten a potential move for Azpilicueta from Marseille.
Meanwhile, Petr Cech has backed club captain John Terry to overcome abuse from rival fans for the upcoming English Premier League season, after the England international was targeted by Manchester city supporters during last Sunday's Community Shield match at Villa Park.
"He is a strong player," Cech said. "He knows that this will go on every time he plays away from home.
"It won't affect him. All I need is for to be JT and to play well. If he does that everybody will be happy."
Cech does not believe the club's style of play needs to change much this season, despite the high-profile arrivals of the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin.
"We will play a slightly different way but we still want to keep our way of playing which has been very successful over the last eight years," he said.
"You know you have to change players because they are ageing and it is sad to see players leave the club, especially someone like Didier (Drogba) who was a legend here. But that's the way it is.
"We have one or two new players with a lot of hunger and they are about to show they want to win things with us as well.
"We are a changing team but still the targets are the same -- we want to win as many trophies as possible. If you don't win you have to be competitive.
"We want to win the Premier League for sure. This (top four) is the aim at the start. But we are ready for the challenge and it's only up to us how we are going to cope with it."
Hazard, who made an appearance for Chelsea in the Community Shield, said he was happy with his performance despite going down to Manchester City 3-2.
"I've already found what I came for in England - beautiful stadium, beautiful pitch, big atmosphere and a very competitive match," the 21-year-old said.
"Beyond the result, I am happy with that first test. I felt at ease. It's very fast and I believe it's a perfect style of play for my qualities.
"I'm here to play these very intense games. In France, it could be intense during ten or 15 minutes but the match can be very quiet during the next ten or 15 minutes.
"Here, it is always at the maximum."