Real Madrid is preparing for a historic signing from Chelsea
Real Madrid seeks to convey a message that it is focused only on ending the current season successfully, and lifting one of the titles (the King’s Cup and the Champions League), as it still has options in both tournaments after Barcelona moved away by 12 points at the top of La Liga.
There is no talk of new deals, although they are undoubtedly being worked on: Bellingham is the priority, but not the only one required. Intuition is growing at the club that strengthening the right-back position is necessary to encourage competition between Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez. There are several names on the table.
Since last year, Real Madrid has drawn up a list of potential reinforcements in this position that included names such as Cancelo, Foyth, Calabria … and Reece James, a favorite of the coaching staff.
The Chelsea full-back, barely 23 years old, is well liked in the Real Madrid offices who know that getting him out of the English club is a complex task and would be a historic deal.
Chelsea are not used to selling unless they have reasons. It was already seen in the cases of Courtois and Hazard, who were transferred (not at a bargain price) when they had one year left on their contract and refused to renew, knowing that Madrid was after them.
Reece James renewed his contract in September 2022 with Chelsea and extended it until 2028; So the task will be difficult, but there is another trick that Real Madrid can count on: Chelsea need to sell next summer to balance the financial fair play accounts and James is one of their most sought-after players.
The ownership of the club was changed last summer, by the sanctions imposed by the UK government on Roman Abramovich for his links with Putin and with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the background, and Todd Boyle, who already owns pedigree from other large sports properties such as the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles, was landed. Angeles Dodgers baseball.
Todd Bohle changed manager (sacked Tuchel to sign Graham Potter) and invested a fortune in signings, between summer and winter: Enzo Fernandez (120m), Fofana (80), Modric (70), Cucurella (65), Sterling (56), Badiachel (38), Coulibaly (38), Modic (35), Malu Justo (30) …
But they already know at the London club that next summer they will have to make significant sales to meet the Premier League and UEFA’s financial fair play requirements.
The accounts for the 2021-22 season have just become official, and the last one under Roman Abramovich’s ownership, with losses of €140m. It has already lost more than 170 million in the 2020-21 season, when it was European champions.
Source: Ace
