Manchester City could turn their attention to Barcelona's Carles Puyol after new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti told them to forget about signing John Terry, according to a report.
The ambitious Eastlands outfit are likely to be given a similar message from the European champions as they will not accept any price for their club captain.
Mark Hughes is reported to have had a £30million bid for Terry dismissed by Chelsea amid claims that the pair coincided at the same Dubai holiday complex last week.
Chelsea's new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, took the reins at Stamford Bridge officially this week and one of his first announcements was that Terry was not going anywhere.
That news may come as a blow to cash rich city, and The Sun think that Puyol will be next on the agenda as Hughes looks to bolster what has been a fragile back-line.
The Lleida-born defender is Barcelona's skipper and at 31 has vowed to stay at Camp Nou for the rest of his career, so while City will have to persuade the Catalan club to sell him, their hardest task may be persuading the player himself to move.
Puyol was linked with a move away from the Blaugrana two seasons ago when Manchester United and AC Milan were said to be interested, but after guiding the club to the treble last term any thouhts of leaving have been banished.