Chelsea wary of paying inflated fees

The London club have had a bid accepted by Bolton for England defender Gary Cahill, but personal terms are still proving a sticking point.

Villas-Boas said: “Apart from a central defender, we might get one more player in but we’re not sure yet.

“It’s always difficult. The top talent is normally cup-tied in the Champions League or in different domestic competitions and it’s difficult for the selling club to make players available.

“It’s normal that you struggle in the transfer market.

“Normally it’s a market where you overpay a lot and that’s what we don’t want to do now.

“That’s why we have set out not to do a lot in the transfer window.”

Chelsea defeated Championship Portsmouth 4-0 in the third round of the FA Cup and could face west London rivals QPR in the fourth round, assuming Rangers can defeat MK Dons in their third-round replay.

Villas-Boas lamented the sacking of Neil Warnock as manager of QPR and said: “It’s always sad news. The Barclays Premier League is always intense and very media-hyped, pressure is all over the place.”