Chelsea have grown impatient at the apparent impasse they have reached with Bolton Wanderers over the transfer of Nicolas Anelka, with the London club warning they will turn to alternative targets if a compromise is not reached before the weekend.

Bolton rejected Chelsea's opening bid of €14.5 million for the France international earlier this week with the Wanderers chairman, Phil Gartside, hoping to raise €20 million via the sale of their leading goalscorer.

Both clubs had privately anticipated an agreement being reached on a revised fee by now, though Bolton are yet to yield in their valuation of the 28-year-old, with Chelsea reluctant to raise their initial offer by such a significant amount.

Anelka, who met the Bolton manager, Gary Megson, earlier in the week to reiterate his desire to move to Stamford Bridge, remains in limbo with talks apparently at a deadlock, though he will be alarmed that Chelsea might switch targets. "He really wants to go to Chelsea," said the striker's agent, Doug Pingisi. "Nicolas is staying calm. He hopes everything will be finalised this week because he has been waiting for an opportunity like this for years.

"He appreciates the fact that he is at the top of the list of players wanted by Chelsea. For Nico, it is very important he finds a club that will allow him to express himself at the highest level. Chelsea are a club that are still involved in every competition, particularly the Champions League."

Avram Grant hopes to complete the €13 million signing of the Lokomotiv Moscow defender Branislav Ivanovic next week once international clearance has been granted, with his options likely to be bolstered by the return of Petr Cech and Frank Lampard. The England midfielder, who suffered a thigh injury in the 4-4 St Stephen's Day draw against Aston Villa, is back in training and, while the visit of Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow will come too soon, he has been pencilled in for a return at Birmingham City next Saturday.

Cech's recovery from a hip complaint sustained at the end of December is further advanced, with the 25-year-old completing a full training session yesterday and expected to return against Spurs. "Recently I have been training hard, returning to fitness and the injury has reacted very well," he said.

Meanwhile, Juande Ramos has dispatched his scouts at Tottenham to find him a new goalkeeper, with the Spaniard having lost faith in England's Paul Robinson to be his long-term first-choice at White Hart Lane.

The former Leeds United goalkeeper was dropped in favour of Radek Cerny for the drawn first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Arsenal on Wednesday night, arguably Spurs' biggest game of the season to date, following his error in last Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie against Reading.

The Czech is expected to be retained for the trip to Chelsea tomorrow and, with Robinson's future at the club now in serious doubt, Ramos is assessing who best to pursue as a replacement.

The Spaniard has been impressed by Ajax's Maarten Stekelenburg, who is contracted to the Dutch club until 2010, with Ramos weighing up whether to formalise his interest in the 25-year-old Holland international. The Spurs director of football, Damien Comolli, has long admired Chelsea's back-up goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, while Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton Wanderers and Valencia's Timo Hildebrand have also been mentioned as possible targets.

Robinson is not the only member of the club's first-team squad who is increasingly unsettled. Jermain Defoe has been told he can leave if an acceptable offer is made, while Darren Bent is growing frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities.

The Spaniard's desire to revamp his back line, meanwhile, saw Philip Ifil sold to Colchester United yesterday and has further implications for the likes of Anthony Gardner and, in particular, Pascal Chimbonda.

The France international's agent, Willie McKay, has confirmed his client is looking to move on having been unsettled by Tottenham's signing of Chris Gunter from Cardiff, and their interest in Rangers' Alan Hutton and Daniel Jarque of Espanyol.

Aston Villa, whose manager Martin O'Neill is in need of a right-back, would appear his likeliest destination.

Indeed, there is an acceptance within the squad at Spurs that all members of the first team are still attempting to convince Ramos that they are worthy of a future at the club.

"You could say that players could be playing for their future, but if that makes them play better then that is all good with me," said the midfielder Jermaine Jenas. "Obviously the manager has not yet brought in any players this month, so it is a given that he is going to bring in some this month."