Chelsea are ready to send Saul Niguez back to Atletico Madrid.

Saul has failed to impress during his loan spell and the Blues aren't willing to fork out to keep him permanently, says the Daily Express.

The news will be a blow to Atletico who the Express claim wanted to make the option to buy mandatory but weren't successful.

Not even a stellar performance by the Spanish ace in the Blues' comfortable 2-0 win over rivals Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg a few days ago was enough to sway the club's hierarchy to reconsider.

Chelsea think that the £30m they'd have to splurge on Saul could be used more effectively on better midfield options.