Chelsea will have to pay £15m to Manchester City in the summer to sign Joe Hart.
According to a report in The Times the City board have decided that there is no way back for the England keeper who is under contract until 2018.
Chelsea are wary of interest from Real Madrid in Thibaut Courtois and have made plans for their first choice keeper returning to the Spanish capital.
The Premier League leaders are keen to get Courtois and Diego Costa signed up onto new deals to keep their pay in line with the high earners being brought in funded by the new television deal.
The Belgian keeper has spoken as various times about how much he enjoyed life in Madrid during a three year stint with Atletico.
If the keeper can’t be persuaded to sign a new deal Chelsea will have no option but to discuss a transfer with Real.
Should that come to pass signing Hart will become the priority with Pepe Guardiola making it clear that there is no future for the England keeper at the Etihad.
Hart is currently on loan at Torino but the Italian side wouldn’t be able to match his current wages and also come up with a transfer fee.