Willian has missed his return to Chelsea training amid reports of a £65million bid from Real Madrid.
The 29-year-old Brazilian was due back last Friday but is still nowhere to be seen and the club fear they may be being strung along by a familiar excuse.
The Times report Willian is claiming a passport issue as the reason behind his absence.
But Chelsea sources worry this is very similar to what Diego Costa told them last summer before demanding a move away.
Willian, who is a close friend of Costa and represented by the same agency, was linked with Barcelona and Manchester United before the Madrid bid.
While the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek arrived back at training before their scheduled return date, Willian is nearly a week late.
Willian's Brazil exited the World Cup in the quarter-finals against Belgium on July 6
When asked this week if he was leaving Chelsea, he claimed: "No, I'm back to England.
"I'm very happy at Chelsea, I'm very happy living in London."
But now the winger could be set to force through a move to the Spanish capital, much as Costa did 12 months ago.
Costa sealed a £57m move to Real's cross-city rivals Atletico after spending most of the summer in Brazil when he refused to return to Chelsea.
The bid for him is reported to be less than the £70m Chelsea demanded from Barcelona, who eventually grew tired of negotiations and signed Malcom from Bordeaux instead.
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