It was said that the Blues had allocated €50 million for the deal, which they are trying to wrap up in January.

From their side, Bayern announced that they are ready to look into bids for France playmaker Ribery, whom many European titans are targeting, including Real Madrid.

Chelsea were banned by FIFA from signing players in the current winter and next summer for persuading youngster Gael Kakuta into breaching his contract with French side Racing Lens.

But the London side had the suspension frozen by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upon their appeal.

CAS is yet to return a final verdict in March, and Chelsea won't be able to land players in the summer should the Swiss-based court uphold FIFA's decision.