New Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been working closely with Mick Doherty in his first days back at Cobham.
The Daily Mail says European scout Doherty has played a pivotal role. He has been compiling reports on Napoli's Edinson Cavani since 2011. That £53m deal remains in negotiation.
A £34.9m bid for Zenit's Hulk is on the table, Porto centre back Eliaquim Mangala, Vitesse Arnhem's Marco van Ginkel, Roma's Daniele de Rossi and Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira figure on the wish list. Fiorentina are battling to keep Stevan Jovetic so Manchester City's Edin Dzeko is the back-up option.