Chelsea Transfer News: Modric, Sneijder, Costa, and Parker

It has been a very quiet summer transfer period for Chelsea, but the Blues' new manager Andre Villas-Boas refuses to yield in his pursuit of Croatian star Luka Modric.

Tottenham has received a bid of up to £27 million playmaker from their London rivals, but there has been little recent evidence that they will let Modric go, even with Chelsea raising their bid. However, that hasn't stopped Villas-Boas from continuing to pursue the 25-year-old, who has shown some interest in leaving White Hart Lane.

Multiple publications have reported that Chelsea will raise their bid to £30 million. Harry Redknapp has remained firm in his stance on Modric and Gareth Bale, stating that Spurs "are not going to sell our best players."

Villas-Boas's interest in Modric doesn't change the fact that young star Romelu Lukaku has joined the Blues, which was confirmed this weekend.

Anderlecht manager Van Holsbeeck basically announced the deal. "It's a pity we have to let Romelu go," Van Holsbeeck said. "He was discovered by us and trained in our youth teams. But this transfer is a win-win situation for everybody. We'll surely look for a suited replacement and hope to announce him soon."

Chelsea's attack appears to be moving in the right direction, with or without Modric, while other options appear to be available.

With Manchester City claiming they have no interest in adding Wesley Sneijder, the Blues might consider dropping their pursuit of Modric and make a strong effort to bring the Dutch midfielder to Stamford Bridge. Sneijder has stated that he is for sale, so it's up to Inter to start finding legitimate suitors.

Manchester United are the clear frontrunners to land Sneijder as their replacement for Paul Scholes, but it's not too late for Chelsea to get the £35 million star. Both Manchester United and Chelsea have also considered adding Brazilian attacking midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso with a £25 million bid. Ganso is heavily pursued by AC Milan and Inter, as well.

Meanwhile, the Blues will continue to battle with Tottenham over Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder Douglas Costa, but now have to deal with another London club, Arsenal, who suddenly have renewed interest in the £10 million-rated Brazilian.

Costa has become the hot new prospect, as both Manchester United and Manchester City are looking to sign the 20-year-old, who scored 10 goals in 40 appearances for the Russian club.

Costa isn't the only midfielder that has been heavily pursued by Premier League clubs recently. Chelsea are interested in West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, who is valued at £8 million, but Tottenham, Arsenal, and Stoke are also keen on Parker.

As for the Neymar, Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala have joined Chelsea in the pursuit of the Brazilian phenom. However, Real Madrid is considered the frontrunner.

There continues to be speculation that Neymar's agent is drumming up false interest in his client.