Chelsea have told Manchester City they have a deadline of 5pm this Friday to make an offer for Enzo Fernandez.
City are interested in the midfielder, who shared a strong relationship with Enzo Maresca when he was Chelsea boss.
Chelsea value Fernandez at £120m and he has six years left on his contract. If City do not meet Chelsea's demands, they do not intend to sell Fernandez in this window.
Barcelona's pursuit of Rodri - which saw them have a £40m bid rejected - has raised the prospect of Manchester City making a late move for Fernandez before the window closes.
ongoing talks with Lille for Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi. They have already signed central-midfielder Elliot Anderson for £116m from Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea have a high valuation for Fernandez but they signed him for around £107m from Benfica in the 2023 winter window. The summer transfer window closes on Tuesday September 1.
Relations between City and Chelsea are strained after the acrimonious manner of Maresca's departure from Chelsea.
City paid Chelsea £17m in compensation to appoint Maresca this summer. He had resigned with three and a half years to run on his contract at the end of 2025 after being sounded out about succeeding Pep Guardiola last autumn.
Chelsea chose to impose this deadline to avoid the distractions that arose when Maresca stood down with his shock exit announced by the club on New Year's Day.
Their view is that interested clubs have had the best part of two months to make an approach for Fernandez. They want new manager Xabi Alonso and his players to be able to focus on the new season ahead.
Fernandez was dropped by Chelsea for two games in April after he admitted he would welcome living in Madrid.
The player and his agent also apologised for his comments. They had been seeking improved terms at Chelsea.
Real Madrid released a statement earlier this summer denying that they would make an attempt to sign Fernandez.