Jadon Sancho may have inadvertently boosted Chelsea's chances of signing Philippe Coutinho, by snubbing the Blues in favour of a move to Manchester United.
The Borussia Dortmund winger's move to Old Trafford may well hinge on whether they qualify for the Champions League, but either it seems he has no desire to play under Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
Lampard has therefore turned his attention away from the former Manchester City ace and is now focused on signing Barcelona's £142m playmaker Coutinho, according to Sport.
The ex-Liverpool star is unlikely to complete a permanent move to current loan side Bayern Munich, and seems destined to not be given another chance at the Nou Camp.
The Blues have already made their first signing of the summer have announced they will land Ajax playmaker Hakim Ziyech on July 1.
And with Sancho now seemingly set to join Manchester United in a £100m deal, Lampard could opt to bring in Coutinho to add experience to his young and talented Blues squad.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will have to stump up £70m for the Brazil international, according to the Evening Standard.
Just 18 months after Barca spent double that figure on Coutinho, he was shipped out to Bayern on loan after scoring 21 goals in 76 appearances.
The 27-year-old has even been linked with a move to Leicester where he would be reunited with former boss Brenan Rodgers, who he worked with at Liverpool.
When Coutinho signed for Barcelona, Rodgers revealed the pair still keep in touch.
“He is a great young guy, he was never a moment’s problem for me. He was a magical player to work with.
“At the time when I bought him, he wasn’t in the team at Inter Milan. People questioned whether he was big enough and tall enough.
“I’d seen him as a young player at 18 at Inter Milan around top players and I always felt he had the technical quality. And, of course, he was always going to get better physically.
“We kept in contact ever since we left.”
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