Borussia Dortmund spoke to Chelsea defender Ian Maatsen about a situation in January.
The 21-year-old is squandering the war to convince Chelsea of his long-term value, having made just one Premier League appearance this season despite the club’s ongoing injury crisis.
Chelsea are in a position to sell Maatsen, who struggled for a few minutes with Mauricio Pochettino and started the final 18 months of his contract.
The Blues are hoping for around £30m after accepting an offer from Burnley at the September deadline.
But Dortmund cannot reach that asking price and would rather sign Maatsen on an initial loan to spread the cost of any deal.
Chelsea would prefer a direct sale as they want to cash in on players before they can point to their January targets, under pressure to stay within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
They are willing to reinvest any budget made from selling players into a new striker, with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Brentford’s Ivan Toney among the targets.
Any deal for either player would be expensive and complicated, but if they are available, their arrival could hasten Maatsen’s departure and potentially see Chelsea reduce their asking price.
Maatsen would be factored into FIFA’s loan limits as he turns 22 later this season, plus his versatility from the bench during an ongoing injury crisis means Chelsea are not rushing to force him out.
The left-back, however, remains the club’s biggest saleable asset to fund the business, with Trevoh Chalobah still injured and Conor Gallagher reluctant to leave as a regular starter and substitute captain.
Maatsen joined Chelsea’s academy from Dutch side PSV in 2018.