According to reports, Chelsea will learn the outcome of their pursuit of Leeds United midfielder Raphinha within the next 24 hours.
The 25-year-old has yet to decide on his future at Leeds United, despite interest from Chelsea, Barcelona, and Arsenal.
Leeds accepted Thomas Tuchel's offer of £55 million for Raphinha, and personal terms are expected to be in the region of £6 million per year.
Raphinha and his agent Deco, a former Blues player, are waiting for Barcelona to make an offer.
Raphinha is said to prefer Barcelona if they can match Chelsea's offer for the attacker.
However, no bid has yet been received from the Spanish club, and time is running out after the Yorkshire club set a deadline.
According to Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard, a decision on his future is expected within the next 24 hours, or by the end of Friday (8 July) at the latest.
Chelsea are said to be the favorites because they are the only team to have had an offer accepted by Jesse Marsch's team.
Arsenal have not given up hope on signing the Brazilian, but Chelsea are the frontrunners if Barcelona do not match their current offer.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta insisted Raphinha wanted to join, and talks were underway with all parties involved in the hope of reaching an agreement.
Last week, Laporta admitted, "We have communication and have spoken with Leeds.
"What's going on is that other clubs want Raphinha and are putting in bids.
He wishes to come.
Leeds are losing patience with Barcelona, according to Ben Jacobs, who attempted to match Chelsea's offer but with significant add-ons and instalments.
They now need an answer quickly, with the Premier League club willing to sell to Chelsea after being impressed by co-owner Todd Boehly during negotiations.
If Chelsea win the race to sign Raphinha, he will join Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge after personal terms were agreed, bringing him one step closer to a move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are expected to reach an agreement with Manchester City soon, with an announcement expected before the Blues travel to the United States for their pre-season training camp and tour this weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also been linked with a move to west London, but Manchester United have insisted that despite his desire to leave, he is not for sale this summer.
After confirming the arrival of former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen, Laporta stated that the club would be unable to afford any additional players unless another economic lever was found.
He continued, "The general rule is that we won't be able to sign any more players as long as we don't have the second lever activated," but there may be some exceptions.
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