Chelsea failed with a massive bid for highly-rated youngster Andre Schurrle, according to his current club Bayer Leverkusen.
The Blues have already completed the signings of exciting youngsters Eden Hazard and Marko Marin for £32 million ($50 million) and £7 million ($11 million) respectively. Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is desperate to turn Chelsea from what is conceived to be a boring team to one that plays an exciting brand of soccer.
Negotiations on their prime target after Hazard for the summer, Hulk, has hit a snag and it seems like Chelsea have looked at other options after baulking on Porto's demands of over £40 million ($62 million) for their Brazilian striker.
While the deal for Hulk is still not completely dead, Schurrle would have been a great addition to the young brigade after the German international showed what he is capable of in the Bundesliga.
The 21-year-old is a direct player who likes to take on defenders and has already made 16 appearances for Germany, despite the strong competition for places.
The forward impressed for his country in Euro 2012, when he started the match against Greece, immediately alerting some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Leverkusen chief executive Wolfgang Holzhauser, who brought in Schurrle to Leverkusen from Mainz last year, said Chelsea made a considerable bid for their star player, but after much discussion the German club decided to hold onto their prized asset.
"We were presented with a very concrete offer from Chelsea for Andre of beyond the 20 million euro mark," Holzhauser was quoted as saying by German news agency SID.
"The sum was pushed back and forth between the two clubs.
"We ultimately chose Andre.
"Andre is very valuable for us. He has also made it clear he would like to stay with us."
Meanwhile, Salomon Kalou signed for French club Lille after his release from Chelsea. The Ivory Coast international penned a four-year deal. "Lille is an ambitious club," Kalou told the club's official website. "From what I have already learned, Lille has nothing to envy the top clubs of Europe."
