Chelsea's ongoing pursuit of David Luiz looks set to drag on for at least another 24 hours after the defender returned to the Benfica squad for the Portuguese Cup tie at Rio Ave.
The 23-year-old's omission from the selection for Saturday's Liga win over Nacional was seen as an indication a deal with the Barclays Premier League champions was close.
The Blues are remaining silent about the progress of negotiations, which the Portuguese press described as ongoing, although it has been suggested the parties are haggling over a player-plus-cash deal.
Slobodan Rajkovic and Nemanja Matic, currently at Vitesse Arnhem on season-long loans from Stamford Bridge, have been mentioned as possible makeweights.
One player who was allowed to leave Chelsea was Gael Kakuta, who completed his loan move to Fulham.
He will doubtless benefit from regular first-team action, as would Patrick van Aanholt, who is understood to be a loan target for Leicester.
The 20-year-old left-back spent most of last term at Coventry and Newcastle.
Source: PA
