Manchester City could be ready to seriously derail Chelsea's summer plans, with the English Premier League champions set to make a move for Radamel Falcao of Atletico Madrid.
Falcao is one of the most wanted strikers in Europe at the moment, but such is the high fee he will command, that only a few clubs can afford to sign him.
The Colombian has a €60 million (£52 million, $78.5 million) buyout clause in his contract, and City are ready to smash the British transfer record by matching the fee, according to the Sunday People.
Chelsea were thought to be the frontrunners for the signature of the 27-year-old, who has also been heavily linked with moves to Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain.
However, with the Blues failing in a bid in January with Falcao deciding to stay until the end of the season, they now face a real prospect of losing out on their No.1 summer target.
Real have reportedly backed out of the deal, because Atletico are reluctant to sell their best player to their Madrid rivals, while Falcao prefers a move to the English Premier League over the French League, which would render PSG as outsiders.
Manchester City are desperate to strengthen their squad considerably at the end of the season, and could offer Edin Dzeko to Ateltico as a part of the deal that would bring Falcao to the Etihad.
Real, knowing that they are unlikely to land Falcao, have turned their attentions toward City striker Sergio Aguero, with the Argentine keen on a move back to Spain for personal reasons.
If indeed the striker merry-go-round happens, it will be Chelsea who lose out to most. The Blues are equally desperate to add to their striking department this summer, with Fernando Torres continuing to look like a shadow of his former self, while Demba Ba has always been looked at as a stop-gap measure.
Romelu Lukaku has been making waves on loan at West Brom, but is still considered too young to take up the striking mantle, leaving the Blues needing a proven striker.
Other than Falcao, Chelsea have also been linked with moves for Edinson Cavani of Napoli and Bayern Munich's Mario Gomes, and if the reports of a City move turn out to be true, they might be forced to shift their attentions toward those two players.
