Chelsea could outdo Arsenal in the £17m race to land Bolton's Gary Cahill.
According to the Sun, new Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas wants an English centre-back to boost his squad next season.
He has been checking out the claims of Everton's Jack Rodwell, Birmingham's Scott Dann and Cahill.
Villas-Boas is ready to make a decision and sources close to Chelsea believe he will opt for 25-year-old England ace Cahill.
While will only add to Arsene Wenger’s to-do list. Meanwhile the Arsenal manager claimed Manchester City have made a mockery of UEFA's new Financial Fair Play regulations.
And he urged European chiefs to look into City's deal with Etihad, estimated to be worth £400million.
The 10-year agreement for shirt and stadium sponsorship is the biggest commercial deal in world football.
Wenger was quoted as saying: "It raises the real question about the credibility of Financial Fair Play.
"They give the message they can get around it by doing what they want."
Wenger did get some help from his young midfield star Jack Wilshere.
He had a dramatic message for Cesc Fabregas: Be a man and stay loyal to Arsenal.
He said: "Loyalty is a big part of football and it shows if you are a real man or not. If you are loyal, it means you are a real man.
"We have loyalty at Arsenal and players have shown that in the past.
"Cesc showed that last year and hopefully a few more players will show it this year.”