Chelsea have given clubs interested in Enzo Fernandez until Friday to submit offers of at least £120m for the midfielder.
The Argentina international’s future at Stamford Bridge has been unclear since March, when he suggested he could leave for Real Madrid.
His agent, Javier Pastore, later said Fernandez was underpaid and wanted to leave following a difficult season for Chelsea.
The club finished 10th in the Premier League and ended the season without a trophy after losing the FA Cup final to Manchester City.
Real Madrid have since ruled out a move for Fernandez, leaving Manchester City as the only known interested club.
City have not indicated if they are willing to meet Chelsea’s £120m valuation. They are also pursuing Lille midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi.
BBC Sport reported on Wednesday that Chelsea set 17:00 BST on Friday as the deadline. The club are expected to hold firm on their price, despite paying £107m for Fernandez from Benfica in 2023.
Chelsea want the deadline to end the uncertainty around the 25-year-old before the new season. The club believes Fernandez and interested teams have had about 60 days to complete a deal at what it considers a fair price.
New manager Xabi Alonso has spoken with Fernandez about his future but has not disclosed what was discussed.
Chelsea are ready to reintegrate Fernandez into the squad and still see him as a key player if no suitable offer arrives.
Fernandez scored 15 goals and registered seven assists in 54 appearances last season. He later helped Argentina reach the World Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Spain after he was sent off.
He returned to Chelsea training this week under Alonso, with his future now set to be decided by Friday’s deadline.
