Chelsea will not be offering Branislav Ivanovic—who is out of contract in the summer—a new deal at Stamford Bridge in the immediate future, despite reported interest in him from Inter Milan.

According to Matt Lewis of the Mirror, at his press conference on Friday Blues boss Jose Mourinho claimed it was “too early” for a deal to be given to either Ivanovic or club captain John Terry.

It’s important to note that he didn’t rule out offering contracts to the pair later in the season, though, as when asked what fellow defender Gary Cahill’s new four-year deal meant for them, he replied, “It means they can sign as well.”

Ivanovic has been linked with a move to Inter recently, with Peter O’Rourke of ESPN FC citing unspecified sources claiming that the defender is “frustrated by the club’s policy to only offer one-year extensions to players over 30.”

The 31-year-old will therefore be free to negotiate pre-contracts with foreign teams in January, so failing to secure him by then could see him depart at the end of the season.

The Serbian has been one of the club’s most consistent performers since arriving in 2008, but this season has seen his—and many of his team-mates’—form take a dramatic downturn.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker noted the change in Ivanovic‘s performance level as early as the second game of the campaign, while as the Guardian‘s Sachin Nakrani demonstrated, his form hadn’t picked up well into September:

With two wins and a draw and no goals conceded in their last three games, Chelsea are slowly showing hints of a revival, though they still remain far from their best.

The club’s one-year extension policy on players over 30 was presumably conceived for just this situation—should an older player decline suddenly, the club aren’t committed to paying a long-term, big-money deal with him.

In that case, Chelsea are likely waiting to see if Ivanovic can get back to his best in the coming months. If not, they won’t view his departure as a major loss.

The Blues could be set to miss out if Tottenham Hotspur renew the contract of Mousa Dembele, though.

Darren Lewis and Dave Kidd of the Mirror recently linked Chelsea with a January move for the Belgian, but according to the Telegraph‘s Matt Law, Spurs are making a new contract for Dembele a “priority” as they tie up their best and brightest on long-term deals.

Dembele has had his ups and downs at White Hart Lane since joining in 2012, but this season he has re-established himself as a driving force in Spurs’ midfield.

The Evening Standard‘s Tom Collomosse and FourFourTwo‘s Seb Stafford-Bloor hailed the 28-year-old after their 4-1 win over West Ham United in November:

Dembele has scored three times in all competitions this season and in 11 Premier League showings has completed 33 take-ons from just 38 attempts and won 34 tackles, according to Squawka.

Chelsea could really use some reinforcement in central midfield, as Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas have regularly failed to inspire this season. There’s also a lack of quality backup options behind them.

Though not quite as solid as Matic or as creative as Fabregas, the dynamic midfielder falls somewhere in between, but he would make a very useful acquisition. If they are to land him, they’ll need to act quickly.

Welcome news for Blues fans will be Thorgan Hazard’s comments that his brother, Chelsea star Eden, is happy at Stamford Bridge, amid rumours of an exit from the club.

Spanish outlet Fichajes (h/t Metro‘s Mark Brus) recently reported that Real Madrid are “interested” in landing the Belgian, but according to the MailOnline’s Matt Maltby, his brother told Omnisport:

Until now, he never said he was unhappy so I think he’s happy.

He’s part of one of the best clubs in the world, he won many titles last year… this year it’s a bit more difficult but it’s football; every player, every club, goes through hard times.

I think he’s happy but you need to ask him, I can’t answer for him.

I think he already proved last year that [Mourinho] worked really well with Eden and Eden worked really well with Mourinho.

Hazard has been thoroughly disappointing this term after winning the PFA Player of the Year award for his outstanding exploits last year, which helped Chelsea win the title.

Nevertheless, he remains key to their fortunes. When he returns to his best form, it’s likely the rest of the team will be equally reignited, so it’s vital Chelsea keep hold of him for as long as possible.

The 24-year-old has the potential to be considered among the best in the world—indeed, he has already been thought of as such during the heights of last season—but what he needs to do now is show that consistently week in and week out.

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