Chelsea have enquired about the availability of Benfica centre-back Tomas Araujo

 

But the Blues were told under no uncertain terms that the 22-year-old Portuguese defender, who has an £85million release clause written into his current deal in Lisbon, is not for sale. Crystal Palace had also shown interest in Araujo earlier this month and the Eagles are understood to have seen an offer worth in the region of £25m rebuffed by Benfica before moving onto other targets.

Paris Saint-Germain have also been sniffing around the player as Milan Skriniar has been in talks with Al-Nassr over a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League. But Benfica are reluctant to continue flogging their most-valuable assets, particularly this late in the window, having already sold star midfielder Joao Neves to PSG in a £60m move inclusive of add-ons.