Sevilla ready to drop out of transfer chase for Chelsea's Alvaro Morata over wages as they push for Munir

Keen to maintain a title challenge, Sevilla are looking for attacking reinforcements this month

Sevilla are ready to bow out of the chase for Alvaro Morata, with Atletico Madrid understood to be leading the chase for the Chelsea striker if they can clear space in their wage bill.

Morata is available on loan this month as the Blues look for him to rediscover some form away from Stamford Bridge after a first half of the season in which he struggled to be productive. Sevilla, sitting third in La Liga and still within touching distance of Barcelona, are looking for players this month who can help them in attack.

Curiously, given who they are chasing, Sevilla might have found their answer in Barcelona's Munir, who is set to finally cut ties with the club where he came through as a much-vaunted academy product.

Signing Munir would be an admission that Sevilla are out of the chase for Morata, a player whose salary of nearly £200k per week they were already struggling to meet when it came to negotiating a loan deal.

Atletico lead the hunt for Morata but need a clear out some deadwood to make salary space themselves. Barcelona were offered the Chelsea forward but have other priorities this month, most notably securing Jean Clair Todibo and Adrien Rabiot on Bosman deals and their long-term pursuit of Ajax wonderkid Frenkie De Jong.

Munir is finally set to cut ties with Barcelona and Sevilla are close to agreeing a deal (Getty)

Barca are open to selling wide forward Malcom despite only stealing in to sign him on deadline day in August, and reports on Friday claimed that the Catalan club had offered him to Chelsea in a cash plus player deal for Willian.

The Blues reportedly declined, but they continue their complicated pursuit of Gonzalo Higuain, who Juventus are happy to sell this window but with whom it has been difficult to agree on terms due to the player's age and Chelsea's policy on contracts for the over-30s.