Chelsea manager Antonio Conte wants to sign Wolfsburg left-back Ricardo Rodriguez in order to add depth to his defensive department.
The 23-year-old was a target for Arsenal in June according to reports but the Gunners made no concrete offers to sign the Switzerland international.
Spain's Cesar Azpilicueta is the only player available on the left after Baba Rahman was loaned out to Schalke 04 at the start of the month.
Conte confirmed on Friday that his squad is short in wide areas in defence and that he is working very hard to sign one or more defenders before deadline day.
"I think we need to sign some players," Conte told reporters.
"We have too few players in defence and we are working with the club to find a solution.
"We arrive after a season which was not so good but we are working very hard to improve the situation but, if you ask me, the real target of this squad now is very difficult.
"We need to pass more time to have a better answer game by game. I have contact every day but I discuss this with the club. We must find solutions."
