Word stemming from the European media late on Thursday points towards Premier League giants Chelsea as being all but out of the race to sign Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt.
Thomas Tuchel's Blues are of course known to be on the lookout for reinforcements at the heart of the club's backline this summer, on the back of the free agent departures of both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
In turn, after previously focusing their attentions on Sevilla standout Jules Kounde, the transfer team in west London have since shifted their sights to Turin, with De Ligt understood to be high on the club's wishlist.
An opening offer for the Dutch stopper is even understood to have been tabled, before being swiftly rejected.
This comes with the powers that be at Juventus having made clear that they will only part with the club's star defender in the case of a bid in the region of €100 million being received.
Chelsea, though, to this point, have not come close to satisfying such demands on the part of the Italian giants.
And, as alluded to above, such hesitance on the part of the west Londoners looks set to cost them dear.
This comes with the latest word stemming from the German media pointing towards a new frontrunner as having emerged in the De Ligt sweepstakes.
As per Kerry Hau of SPORT1, having opened negotiations with Juventus over a deal for the 22-year-old, Bayern Munich are now preparing their first official proposal for De Ligt.
Even more significant, though, is the assurance that Chelsea, in turn, are 'out' of the race for the Dutchman, who has 'made it clear' that he has his sights set firmly on a move to the Bundesliga champions.