Chelsea have submitted a €100 million (£88m) offer to Juventus for Gonzalo Higuain, according to reports in Italy.
The Premier League champions are desperately trying to sign a new striker after losing out to Manchester United in the race for Romelu Lukaku, while Antonio Conte has informed Diego Costa that he is no longer part of his plans at Stamford Bridge.
Tuttosport claims that Conte is furious with Chelsea's hierarchy over their failure to land Lukaku ahead of Jose Mourinho's side, who completed a £75m deal for the Belgian on Monday.
And to make amends, Chelsea's board approached Juventus 10 days ago with their proposal to sign Higuain.
Chelsea's €100m (£88m) offer was made to the Serie A champions but the club's director Beppe Marotta has rejected the bid and is adamant that the 29-year-old will not be sold.
Higuain is the fourth most-expensive signing of all time after Juventus paid €90m (£75.3m) to sign him from Napoli last summer.
In his first season in Turin, the Argentina international scored 32 goals in 55 games, helping the club win Serie A, the Coppa Italia and reach the final of the Champions League where they were beaten by Real Madrid.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have been forced to alter their transfer plans after missing out on Lukaku.
Reports are claiming that the Premier League champions are in pole position to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who would cost £65m from Borussia Dortmund.
But Torino's Andrea Belotti and Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata, who Conte tried to sign for Chelsea last summer, have also been linked.
The Premier League champions have also been in contact with Juventus over potential deals for Alex Sandro and Leonardo Bonucci, who agreed to join AC Milan on Friday evening.
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