Chelsea have grown impatient at the apparent impasse they have reached with Bolton Wanderers over the transfer of Nicolas Anelka, with the London club warning they will turn to alternative targets if a compromise is not reached before the weekend.
Bolton rejected Chelsea's opening bid of €14.5 million for the France international earlier this week with the Wanderers chairman, Phil Gartside, hoping to raise €20 million via the sale of their leading goalscorer.
Both clubs had privately anticipated an agreement being reached on a revised fee by now, though Bolton are yet to yield in their valuation of the 28-year-old, with Chelsea reluctant to raise their initial offer by such a significant amount.
Anelka, who met the Bolton manager, Gary Megson, earlier in the week to reiterate his desire to move to Stamford Bridge, remains in limbo with talks apparently at a deadlock, though he will be alarmed that Chelsea might switch targets. "He really wants to go to Chelsea," said the striker's agent, Doug Pingisi. "Nicolas is staying calm. He hopes everything will be finalised this week because he has been waiting for an opportunity like this for years.
"He appreciates the fact that he is at the top of the list of players wanted by Chelsea. For Nico, it is very important he finds a club that will allow him to express himself at the highest level. Chelsea are a club that are still involved in every competition, particularly the Champions League."
Avram Grant hopes to complete the €13 million signing of the Lokomotiv Moscow defender Branislav Ivanovic next week once international clearance has been granted, with his options likely to be bolstered by the return of Petr Cech and Frank Lampard. The England midfielder, who suffered a thigh injury in the 4-4 St Stephen's Day draw against Aston Villa, is back in training and, while the visit of Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow will come too soon, he has been pencilled in for a return at Birmingham City next Saturday.
Cech's recovery from a hip complaint sustained at the end of December is further advanced, with the 25-year-old completing a full training session yesterday and expected to return against Spurs. "Recently I have been training hard, returning to fitness and the injury has reacted very well," he said.