Chelsea have reportedly been told to "live in the real world" after pleading with the government to loosen the sanctions imposed on them this week.
Owner Roman Abramovich found himself on the end of punishment on Thursday as the UK government froze the oligarch's assets because of links to Vladimir Putin.
The Russian has always denied these links, but nevertheless, due to his 100% ownership of Chelsea, the Blues have found themselves unable to trade.
This has meant no more match tickets or club merchandise can be sold while transfer and contract negotiations have also had to be put on hold until a change of ownership is confirmed.
It has left the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen in limbo with the defensive trio all set to become free agents this summer.
The club remain eager to hang on to Rudiger in particular but there are concerns that current restrictions could stop lead to them being unable to negotiate.
The Telegraph have now reported that Chelsea have requested that government ease restrictions on them so that they be allowed to negotiate contracts and transfers amid fears that Thomas Tuchel could face a defensive crisis.
But the response has been blunt, with a Whitehall source telling the Telegraph that there was no chance of the club carrying on as normal.
"They’ve got to live in the real world. People are getting bombed and losing their lives in another country," the source said.
There remains optimism that a takeover can still be completed with the current sanctions, and a number of parties remain interested in a deal.
