Chelsea had a £44million bid for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella accepted by the Serie A club in January, but the player rejected the move, reports claim.
The Blues were desperately searching for a deep-lying midfielder as cover for Jorginho after the sale of Cesc Fabregas to Monaco.
Barella, the 21-year-old Italy international, was identified as the club’s number one target.
And according to Italian media outlet Tutto Mercato, the Blues launched a successful £44million bid only for the midfielder to turn them down.
It is understood he would rather stay in Italy due to ‘family reasons’ and will reassess his options in the summer, with a host of top clubs preparing to swoop.
Chelsea, in the end, did not sign a January replacement for Fabregas, and manager Maurizio Sarri has been forced to defend the recent performances of Jorginho.
The Blues boss suggests his key man is tired due to a shortage of options in that position, and blamed his Chelsea team-mates for a lack of movement.
“Jorginho needs movement without the ball from the other players because he is used to play one touch and it’s very difficult to play one touch without the movement of the other players,” Sarri said.
And the manager is now eyeing up Real Madrid loanee Mateo Kovacic as cover for Jorginho.
He added: “Kovacic is really close to Jorginho in moving the ball very fast, one touch.
“In the future, he will be able to play this position well and Jorginho will be able to rest.”