Chelsea saw a late bid of €45m (£39m) for midfielder Ibrahim Sangare rejected by PSV Eindhoven, according to a report.
The West Londoners were looking to bolster their squad with a new centre-midfielder before the summer transfer window shut on Thursday night, and Sangare was identified as a potential target.
According to Dutch news outlet Eindhovens Dagblad, Chelsea were prepared to pay up to €45m (£39m) for the 24-year-old, but PSV had no intention to sell.
The Eredivisie transfer window closed 24 hours earlier compared with the rest of Europe due to an administrative error by the Dutch FA, meaning that PSV would not have been able to have signed a replacement.
PSV were also reluctant to part ways with in-demand attacker Cody Gakpo for the same reason despite interest from a host of clubs including Manchester United, Southampton, Leeds United and Arsenal.
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Sangare would have been available for €37m (£31.9m) earlier this summer as this was the valuation of his release clause before he penned a new five-year contract on August 7.
The 24-cap Ivory Coast international joined PSV from Toulouse in the summer of 2020 and has since developed into an important first-team player, making 96 appearances in all competitions.
Sangare, a 6ft 3in box-to-box midfielder has made a bright start to the new campaign, despite speculation circling about his future, scoring two goals in three Eredivisie matches as well as finding the net in the 2-2 first leg Champions League playoff against Rangers.
Chelsea were also linked with Ajax's Edson Alvarez and Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz, but they eventually moved for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria on a season-long loan deal.
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The 25-year-old only joined Juve in January from Borussia Monchengladbach, but he has now made the temporary switch to Stamford Bridge and the Blues are understood to have an option to buy the Switzerland international in 2023.
Chelsea also completed the signing of former Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona for an undisclosed fee believed to be worth in the region of £12m.
The 33-year-old is set for at least a few weeks on the sidelines, however, as he recovers from a broken jaw suffered when four armed men broke into his home on Monday.
The arrival of Aubameyang takes Chelsea's spending to around £271m and sees them become the Premier League's biggest-ever spenders in a single transfer window.
Oliver Thomas
