French giants Paris Saint-Germain are close to completing the signing of midfielder Leandro Paredes in a €40m deal from Zenit Saint Petersburg.
The Argentina international has been a top target for Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri over the last few months and it was understood that the Blues had agreed to a deal in principle with Paredes ahead of the January transfer window.
An injury crisis in Paris, however, has forced Thomas Tuchel to bully his way to the front of the cue for Paredes' signature this month.
The Telegraph claims that Paredes was in the French capital on Wednesday to finalise the move which looks set to be confirmed in the very near future.
Paris Saint-Germain are in desperate need of reinforcements before they kick off their Champions League knockout stage campaign against Manchester United.
Injuries to Lassana Diarra and Marco Verratti has left Les Parisiens short of options in the middle of the park, while Adrien Rabiot is unsure over his future immediate at the club before he leaves as a free agent in the summer.
Chelsea had hoped that Paredes would move to Stamford Bridge as the final piece of Maurizio Sarri's midfield jigsaw, as the Italian currently rotates a number of players alongside Jorginho and N'Golo Kanté.
The Blues will now have to turn their attention to Cagliari's Nicolò Barella - another of Sarri's targets - if they want to strengthen in January.
Chelsea have already secured Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuaín on loan for the rest of the season, while their third most expensive ever signing Christian Pulisic was immediately loaned back to Borussia Dortmund earlier this month.
Source: 90min
