Chelsea have apparently dropped their interest in Everton attacker Anthony Gordon for a second time.
The Blues pushed hard to bring the 21-year-old to Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window, but Everton held out for a £60m asking price and managed to retain his services.
Gordon enjoyed a bright start to the season with the Toffees, but he has since gone off the boil and has not started a Premier League fixture since Boxing Day.
The England Under-21 international was an unused substitute as Everton went down 2-0 to West Ham United on Saturday, with that loss leaving the Toffees 19th in the Premier League table.
Frank Lampard was sacked as Everton manager in the wake of that defeat at the London Stadium, and the club's most sought-after players are now seeing their futures called into serious question.
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Chelsea were rumoured to have reignited their interest in Gordon this month amid Everton's predicament, but Newcastle United are also in the picture during the final few days of the January transfer window.
According to the Northern Echo, Chelsea are no longer actively pursuing a deal for Gordon, who is still admired by those at Stamford Bridge, but Graham Potter is prioritising midfield targets at present.
As a result, Newcastle have jumped to the head of the queue for the attacker's signature, but Everton are still said to be after a £60m fee, in spite of Gordon's recent struggles.
Gordon has supposedly missed two days' worth of training with Everton amid speculation over his future, but talks between Newcastle and Everton are yet to yield a positive solution.
The report claims that the Magpies are not willing to go higher than £40m including add-ons, but there is still optimism from both sides that an agreement can be reached in the next few days.
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Gordon, who is under contract at Goodison Park until 2025, was a member of Liverpool's academy before joining Everton in 2012, and the 21-year-old has seven goals and eight assists to show from 78 senior Toffees appearances.
Chelsea have reinforced their attack with the permanent signings of Mykhaylo Mudryk and David Datro Fofana this month, as well as signing Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
The trio have joined Andrey Santos and Benoit Badiashile as new Blues players during a hectic period of January spending, but Potter's side are still after a new midfielder before Tuesday's deadline.
Chelsea could still negotiate with Everton for the signing of Amadou Onana, but they will have to fend off competition from Arsenal to sign the ex-Lille man, while Brighton & Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo is also a prime target.
The Blues are reported to have reignited their interest in Benfica's Enzo Fernandez as well, but Eagles manager Roger Schmidt has said that he expects the Argentinian World Cup winner to stay at the club this month.
Ben Knapton
