AC Milan reportedly want William Gallas as part of Chelsea's deal to sign Andriy Shevchenko while Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy and Inter Milan's Brazilian forward Adriano could become possible replacements for the Ukranian.
The Blues are aiming to complete a British record £35million signing of the Ukraine striker in the next three days but the Italian giants are determined to secure Gallas as part of any deal.
Chelsea had been warned at the end of last week that they must meet the asking price for the 29-year-old striker and the Daily Mirror reports that the French defender could be used to save some of Roman Abramovich's millions.
Shevchenko is expected to become Jose Mourinho's second major signing of the summer after they secured the services of Michael Ballack from Bayern Munich on a lucrative three-year deal.
The Germany captain earns a reported £130,000-a-week and this could influence Shevchenko's demands on his hefty pay packet.
Van Nistelrooy, who has scored 150 goals in 200 starts for United since joining five years ago, is is reported to have fallen out with boss Alex Ferguson but said he will not make any decisions about his future until after next month's World Cup.
Relations between the Dutch striker and Ferguson appeared to break down when Van Nistelrooy had to settle for a place on the bench in the second half of last season. He also left United's final game against Charlton before kick-off.
The player also stated he was asked to leave the team hotel and told he would not be allowed to appear in Roy Keane's testimonial. To date the club haven't commented on the situation, but after the Charlton game, Ferguson said there had been "a couple of issues during the week that concerned us in terms of the spirit of the club".
The Sun newspaper reported that Milan believe Van Nistelrooy is the ideal player to replace Shevchenko: "He is one of the few players in the world who could replace Sheva," a spokepserson at the club is believed to have said.
As for Shevchenko himself, his decision to leave is for family reasons. "I'm leaving for family reasons," the former European footballer of the year said. "I thank the club for all they've given me. There's no relationship problem and there's no economic problem."
Adriano Galliani, Milan's vice president, said in the same statement that the club would start negotiations with Chelsea, adding: "It will not be easy. It's a victory of the English language over the Italian language," Galliani said. "I tried to persuade him to stay up until the last minute. It is certainly the most painful separation during my time at Milan."
Shevchenko's American wife Kristen is reported to have asked her husband to move to London as she would prefer their son Jordan to grow up in an English-speaking country.
Milan Carlo Ancelotti has Italy internationals Alberto Gilardino and Filippo Inzaghi as his two remaining forwards but Milan fans will expect a big name to arrive if they are to accept losing their top scorer.
Italy's investigations into match-fixing allegations could broaden the range of Ancelotti's options, however.
Should Juventus, at the centre of the scandal, be relegated to Serie B their France forward David Trezeguet and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic could become targets.
Shevchenko has been at Milan for seven years following his $25 million move from Dynamo Kiev, where he won five domestic league titles. During his time with the Italian club he won the Champions League in 2003 and the Italian title in 2004. He has scored 127 goals in 208 Serie A matches for Milan.
He is also the highest scorer in the history of the European Cup with 52 goals after grabbing 33 in the Champions League for Milan and 19 while playing for Kiev.
