Chelsea will not allow themselves to get into a bidding war for Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery. The London Evening Standard says the club are still weighing up whether they will try to make another attempt to sign the France international, who was their No1 target last summer.

Bayern rejected bids from Chelsea and Real Madrid in the off-season but may sell Ribery in the new year as he is refusing to sign a new deal and has been unsettled by all the speculation.

The German club claimed they had turned down an offer of £58.5million plus Jose Bosingwa from Chelsea for the 26-year-old in the summer but sources suggest it never got that high. It is understood Chelsea made a bid in the region of £40m and are not prepared to go much higher.