With things not exactly working out as he would have envisioned, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric could be on his way back to the English Premier League with Chelsea set to tempt the Croatian by bidding for him.
Real Madrid completed a protracted move for the midfielder at the beginning of the season, with Modric digging his heels at Tottenham to force a dream move to the Bernabeu.
However, despite all the trials and tribulations in making the move, the actual performance on the field for the 27-year-old has been a bit of an anticlimax, with Modric struggling to establish a place for himself in the starting lineup, and not really impressing when given a chance.
Modric was voted by La Liga fans as the worst signing of the summer leading to suggestions that the Croatian might be open to a move back to the Premier League, where he sparkled with Spurs.
Chelsea are ready to take advantage of the situation by offering £22 million ($35 million) to Real Madrid in view to a summer move, according to the Sun. While that amounts falls well short of the amount, believed to be around £33 million ($53 million), paid by Real to Spurs, the Spanish club might be open to a sale with the man that brought him to Real - Jose Mourinho - expected to leave in the summer.
Chelsea failed in a bid to land the playmaker two seasons ago, with Spurs then rejecting a near £40 million ($64 million) bid.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have lost out on the signing of Taison, with the Brazilian opting to move to Shakhtar Donetsk from Metalist Kharkiv.
The Blues were thought to have agreed a deal with Metlalist for the playmaker, with Taison also reportedly agreeing personal terms, but Shakhtar came at the last minute to trigger his buyout clause of €15 million (£12.5 million, $20 million).
"The Shakhtar and Metalist presidents negotiated his move from Kharkiv to Donetsk on Thursday," Shakhtar said in a statement. "An initial €11.3 million (£9.3 million, $15 million) offer was turned down by Metalist, so Donetsk decided to use the buyout clause."
Taison, who had earlier said he would love to play alongside former Internacional teammate Oscar at Chelsea, expressed his happiness at signing for Shakhtar.
"I am happy to play for such a great club," Taison told the club's official website. "I played a lot against Shakhtar and I have a lot of information about them. I know Shakhtar's Brazilians. I really want to help the club win new titles.
"I'll train and work, respecting everyone who plays for the club. In the first place I have respect for all. Of course, I will try to play as best I can.
"It was the right choice, despite the fact that I was happy at Metalist, with whom I achieved a lot. And I want to again thank the entire team, coaches, staff of the Kharkiv club. But having joined Shakhtar, I understand what this club is all about."