Chelsea dealt blow in pursuit of Southampton defender

Chelsea have been knocked back in their pursuit of Cedric Soares after being told Southampton would only consider a ridiculous offer at this stage of the transfer window, claims the London Evening Standard.

Antonio Conte had earmarked Soares as a top transfer target as he looks to find competition for Victor Moses at right wing-back and was hopeful of completing a £15m deal for the Euro 2016 winner.

Chelsea are prepared to spend in excess of £100m on new players before the transfer window shuts in order to satisfy Conte’s desire for more signings but may now have to look elsewhere for Moses competition.

Southampton have already been firm on their stance about Virgil van Dijk this summer and are not interested at being bullied around for another one of their players.

Soares, who was linked with a shock move to Barcelona at the start of the summer, has spent the last two years at Southampton and established himself as a mainstay in the starting XI in that time.

In fact, during that time Soares has completed the most cross (excluding corners) in the Premier League (74).