In the past few months, Chelsea were in plans to sign Patrick Mercado from Independiente del Valles.
On October 7, Sports Witness Covered Claims Both the Blues and Wolves have interest in South America.
Two months earlier, the same source had reported that wolves were ahead of chelsea In the race to sign the 22-year-old.
Fast forward to February and Wednesday's edition As Including the latest information on Chelsea when reporting Sevilla's interest.
Chelsea will miss Mercado
The Andalusian club are also pushing the Ecuadorian international forward and have even made progress in securing his services in the winter market. However, no move was made in the last window as there were no non-EU slots vacant.
This has not stopped them from pursuing the midfielder wanted by Liam Rosenior. The newspaper now states that 'Sevilla have beaten Chelsea and other rivals to win the race for Mercado's signature.'
As it has now been reported the La Liga side will pay Independiente del Valles €6m for the Ecuadorian.
abc sevillaSevilla's local newspaper supports Chelsea's interest and then covers the latest. It has been claimed that the Spanish club have secured a pre-agreement for the player's summer arrival.
Why is there still hope for the Blues?
However, the newspaper warns that 'the pre-agreement comes with significant implications and conditions.' To register the South American, Sevilla must first make changes within the club.
Since Mercado is from Ecuador, the Spanish club will have to make a non-EU slot available for him. Brazilian Marco and the Chilean pair of Alexis Sanchez and Gabriel Suazo are now in possession of it.
Maracao is in the process of obtaining a Spanish passport while Sanchez is likely to leave after this season.
Furthermore, Sevilla will need to make room in their wage bill to sign Mercado. This can be done by removing some players, which will also help them improve their financial position.
These conditions could give Chelsea time to hijack the operation from the clutches of Sevilla.
