Talks between Chelsea and Danish defender Andreas Christensen have stalled, with both parties going cold on their negotiations.
A few months ago, the 25-year-old Dane appeared on the verge of signing a new agreement after Chelsea had raised their initial offer, which actually represented a pay cut.
However, there has been no progress since then, and that ahs raised concerns that Chelsea could find themselves short at the back by the start of new season.
Antonio Rüdiger appears likely to leave the club, whilst Thiago Silva is into the fianl year of his own deal, and is now 37 years old.
Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is into the last eight months of his own contract in West London, whilst long-term transfer target, Jules Koundé of Sevilla, has recently revealed his preference to join Manchester United instead.
All this may force Chelsea back to the negotiating table with the Dane sooner rather than later.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.