Chelsea end Modric chase

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed Chelsea are unlikely to make another approach for Tottenham midfielder Luke Modric in January.

The Londoners failed with several bids for the Croatian over the past transfer window, which closed on August 31, with their final offer reaching up to 40 million pounds, according to Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp.

But it appears Chelsea, who take on Sunderland in the English Premier League on Saturday, have given up on trying to lure the playmaker to Stamford Bridge as they look to pursue other targets.

When asked in a press conference on Thursday about the possibility of another bid for the Croatian, Villas-Boas said: “No I don’t think so. The market is closed and I won’t speculate what happens in January.”

The Portuguese manager also admitted Chelsea failed in a bid to sign full-back Alvaro Pereira from Porto after the two clubs could not agree a fee for the Uruguayan.

Meanwhile, striker Didier Drogba is slowly recovering from a concussion sustained in Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Norwich.

Villas-Boas believes the Ivorian has a chance of being fit for the clash against Manchester United on September 18, but he has ruled him out of the side’s first UEFA Champions League fixture against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

“He has to be authorised medically to make his full return to training. He has been doing light sessions, of course, with our physios,” Villas-Boas said.

“Let’s push it to the limit to try for him to be available for Man United. I wouldn’t say he would be available for Leverkusen.”

Villa-Boas has been boosted by the news the goalkeeper Petr Cech will return to action against Sunderland after being ruled out since the first game of the season.

Defender David Luiz is also in contention to play at the Stadium of Light after missing the first three games, from which Chelsea collected seven points.