ONE of the most acrimonious transfer sagas of recent times took another twist last night with Chelsea threatening to pull out of the deal for Ashley Cole unless Arsenal drop their asking price. Chelsea accused their London rivals of deliberately overvaluing the England defender at £25 million and said they would call a halt unless Arsenal lower their demands to £20 million.

Negotiations reached an impasse yesterday after Chelsea released a statement saying that they would not increase their bid, which followed José Mourinho’s demand that the issue be resolved by the end of the week. The Chelsea manager reiterated after his side’s 1-1 draw with Celtic in a friendly at Stamford Bridge last night that his club would not offer “one single pound more” for the player.

“We did not lose patience [with Arsenal],” he said. “Ashley Cole is an Arsenal player — they have the power to say yes or no, and we have the power to say how far our offer goes. Our offer went to the limit.

“The club just finished and does not move ahead one single pound more. Our offer is an excellent offer for an excellent player. But they say no. He was an important choice for us but he was also important for them and probably they want to keep him.”

Peter Kenyon, Chelsea’s chief executive, who had a £16 million bid for Cole rejected last month, spoke on several occasions to David Dein, the Arsenal vice-chairman, yesterday and after failing to make any breakthrough chose to articulate his club’s frustration for the first time.

“Chelsea FC has been in discussions with Arsenal Football Club for some time over the possible transfer of Ashley Cole,” a statement on the club’s website read. “Chelsea has made a very substantial offer for the player. Although discussions have continued, Arsenal’s valuation of the player does not match Chelsea’s and therefore no agreement can be reached in the current circumstances.”

Chelsea are growing increasingly weary at what they perceive to be Arsenal’s intransigence, particularly since they are the only bidders in the market for a player who has told his employers he wants to leave. Kenyon is adamant that the club will not be taken for a ride because of Roman Abramovich’s riches and, conscious of having overpaid when signing Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Shaun Wright-Phillips over the past two years, is determined not to do so again.

Chelsea also feel strongly that Arsenal are treating them differently to any other club as a result of the rivalry between the supporters and Dein’s antipathy to Kenyon. They are seeking to extract a higher price from Chelsea, having reached a verbal agreement with Cole that he could leave for £15 million 12 months ago.

Arsenal are faced with deciding whether to say goodbye to several million in order to get the deal done, but the biggest loser could be Cole. The 25-year-old has burnt his bridges at Arsenal, telling Arsène Wenger of his desire to leave at the end of last season and criticising the club heavily in an autobiography to be published at the end of the month, but could yet be forced into a humiliating climbdown. Chelsea, with Kenyon committed to making the club self- sufficient by 2010, have to draw the line somewhere, though it remains likely they will still cough up.

With Arsenal digging their heels in over Cole, many at the club are more open to the possibility of José Antonio Reyes joining Real Madrid. The Spain international hopes to force through a move in the next few days, but such a transfer depends on Arsenal’s hopes of signing Franck Ribéry, of Marseilles.