Delays over Manchester City's deal for former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez are due to third-party ownership red-tape.
A Premier League spokesman told the Manchester Evening News: "Carlos Tevez's relationship with United was the last of its kind in the Premier League.
"There was a third-party issue, and whoever buys him now will have to buy out that third-party interest."
Chelsea are also interested in the 25-year-old, but he is settled in Cheshire, and has significantly indicated that City are his first choice.
And City will continue to work with Kia Joorabchian and Tevez's agent Adrian Ruocco in a bid to get the deal done before the club fly to South Africa next Wednesday for the Vodacom Challenge pre-season tournament.