Chelsea are in talks with the representatives of Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.
Chelsea's German scout Rainer Bonhof saw £20million-rated Van der Vaart take his season's goal tally to 10 - making him the Bundesliga's joint-top marksman - in the weekend's 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.
Van der Vaart has refused to sign a contract extension. And even though he is also wanted by Inter Milan, Juventus and Valencia, Chelsea are his favoured option.