Possible Chelsea interest in Belgian midfielder set to end before it could even begin

The sources linking Chelsea with Axel Witsel were perhaps more dubious than most, so it's probably not surprising that not only are Chelsea set to miss out on the Belgian midfielder, but chances are, we were possibly never in it to begin with.

Confirmed: AC Milan, Zenit & Axel Witsel's agents are currently in negotiations. They hope to find an agreement today. (via @hlnsport) #cfc

— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) June 24, 2015

Then again, if sources in Russia are to be believed:

Zenit say they are still waiting for a formal offer for Axel Witsel. (via @RusFootballNews)

— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) June 24, 2015

It should be noted that both the original Belgian source (Sudinfo) and the Russian source mentioned above also ran with the Chelsea story just a few days ago.  Hashtag Silly Season.

Terreur's timeline does mention that Chelsea have been keeping tabs (as we probably do on most top level players in some sense), but that Witsel was never a priority for us.  Which is too bad, for he does have glorious hair.

As Italy wakes up this morning, the latest reports have now backtracked a bit on the hot-n-heavy stuff Re AC Milan, but chances are that Witsel will still end up playing somewhere other than Zenit St. Petersburg next season.  Others rumored to be interested include Juventus (especially if Pogba leaves — yes please) and Manchester United (who, given their dire needs, get linked to players more often than even Chelsea).