If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

That should certainly be Chelsea's motto with regard to the sale of Alex. The 29-year-old one-name wonder from Brazil was thought to be on his way to Queens Park Rangers, but according to Mirror Football, that deal is now off.

This marks the second time that QPR have unsuccessfully attempted to extract Alex from their west London rivals. Said Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas of the situation:

I'm sure that the clubs can reach an agreement if they continue to push. We know Alex's market value and we're just not going to let him go quite easily, not that QPR's offer is far, far off. He is a player that has attracted a lot of interest from Premier League clubs and from abroad.

Alex is thought to prefer a move out of England, thereby making a big acquisition on the transfer market that much more difficult for the Rangers. The Brazilian center-back has also drawn interest from the likes of Paris St-Germain and Juventus.

In any case, it would behoove AVB to find a new home for Alex before the January transfer window slams shut. The Brazilian hasn't so much as sniffed first-team playing time since submitting a transfer request to the club back in November, after losing his spot in the starting XI to the insufferable Sideshow Bob David Luiz.

And if Alex weren't superfluous enough to Chelsea's pursuits in the English Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League before, he certainly is now, with the long-awaited arrival of Gary Cahill from Bolton.

What's more, Alex's value on the open market can only decline so long as he's chained to the bench at Stamford Bridge. All told then, it's clearly in Chelsea's best interest to part ways with Alex sooner rather than later, for the financial health of the club off the pitch as well as its cohesion on it.

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