Trace Balkan rebel only to come up with nothing (4,1,5)
I believe the answer is:
draw a blank
'to come up with nothing' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'trace balkan rebel' is the wordplay.
'trace' becomes 'draw' (synonyms).
'rebel' indicates anagramming the letters.
'balkan' is an anagram of 'ablank'.
'draw'+'ablank'='DRAW A BLANK'
'only' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for draw a blank that I've seen before include "Come up empty-handed" , "Get no result" , "Fail in search" , "Scrabble player likes to" , "elicit no successful response" .)