Real Madrid are reportedly plotting an ambitious bid for Chelsea right-back Reece James – who ‘could’ be available for as little as £44million.
James played the full 90 minutes of Wednesday evening’s Champions League quarter-final between the Blues and the European champions.
Admittedly, it was not the England right-back’s best evening.
Vinicius Junior ran James ragged – as he does to many elite defenders – as Los Blancos won 2-0 without breaking a sweat.
James has previously been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu, which is quite surprising as you would expect the English international to be one of the few untouchable players at Stamford Bridge.
Spanish outlet Marca reported on Wednesday that Real Madrid were planning to keep an eye on James throughout the Champions League clash in the Spanish capital.
The report stated that Madrid ‘like’ the 23-year-old and believe they can ‘target’ him despite the fact he signed a five-year contract extension last September.
A stumbling block for the Spanish giants was Chelsea’s €70million valuation of the player, which made any idea of a transfer ‘dead’.
However, a report from the same outlet on Thursday has said a transfer could be on the cards for €50m (£44m).
James was actually given a one-star rating by Marca for his display against Vinicius, but this has apparently not deterred Madrid’s interest.
Madrid reportedly like James and Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies and are ‘watching’ both defenders.
The Chelsea star’s departure ‘could occur over €50m’, the report states.
Real Madrid’s first-choice right-back at this moment in time is Dani Carvajal, while Carlo Ancelotti has been utilising Eduardo Camavinga on the other side of his defence.
The club’s owners have spent an absolute fortune since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last year, building a talented, yet underperforming, squad.
Graham Potter recently lost his job having dealt with an extremely bloated squad, which certainly did not help him.
Several players are being linked with a summer transfer, but the sale of James will surely not be discussed.
Conor Gallagher is attracting interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, and is expected to leave at the end of the season.
Other stars such as Mason Mount, Edouard Mendy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are all likely to depart with whoever replaces Potter in the long term needing to drastically trim the squad.
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is reportedly ready to negotiate the sale of England international Reece James, who is being linked with Real Madrid.
West Ham have moved into pole position for a Arsenal and Man Utd target, while Chelsea are preparing to sell two of their England internationals…
Spanish giants Real Madrid are reportedly ‘monitoring’ Trent Alexander-Arnold as he approaches the final year of his Liverpool contract.
Chelsea are said to “need £100m” in player sales at the start of the upcoming transfer window to avoid FFP sanctions “much bigger” than Everton’s.
Chelsea will reportedly allow Real Madrid to dodge paying an enormous fee for Reece James by asking for Federico Valverde in exchange, as they ‘love’ the Uruguayan.
Chelsea captain Reece James is reportedly set to have surgery on his hamstring, which will keep him out of action for a lengthy spell.
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