Genoa’s Diego Laxalt is believed to be on Chelsea’s list of potential replacements for the departing Oscar.
According to a report in The Standard the 23-year-old left sided midfielder is being considered to play left wing-back as Antonio Conte develops his side towards a flexible 3-5-2 formation.
Laxalt is in his third season at Genoa having also had spells at Bologna and Empoli since leaving his native Uruguay in 2013.
Genoa are sitting in 13th place out of 20 in Serie A and are unlikely to consider any January offer below £30m for their 23-year-old midfielder.
Conte is prepared to wait to get his man and won’t be bullied into inflated deals on the back of Chelsea’s Oscar windfall.
The bulk of the expected £60m has been earmarked to be spent on defenders with Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk the first choice central defender although there is strong competition from elsewhere in the Premier League for the talented Dutchman.