REAL’S £100m OFFER FOR CHELSEA DUO
Courtois and Willian on Madrid’s wanted list
REAL MADRID have made Chelsea an offer of £100million for Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Brazilian midfielder Willian.
Courtois has made no secret of his desire to move back to the Spanish capital, where his children live. ‘My heart is in Madrid,’ he said during the World Cup in Russia. He has only one year left on his contract at Chelsea.
After an impressive World Cup, 29year-old Willian looked set to join Barcelona last week, but the Catalan club balked at Chelsea’s £70m asking price. Now Madrid want to include Willian in their move for Courtois, 26, with the Brazilian making up around £65m of the combined fee.
Manchester United have also shown interest in signing Willian, who has won two Premier League titles since joining Chelsea in 2013, and was the club’s player of the year in 2016.
Courtois has been the Spanish club’s top target for some time, with the Real Madrid board convinced they will get their man as soon as Chelsea have signed a replacement.
Chelsea have until the August 9 English transfer deadline to make a move for a new keeper, with Stoke’s Jack Butland easier to sign than first-choice target Jordan Pickford, who Everton do not want to release. Chelsea would then have until the end of the month to tie up a deal with Real to send Courtois to Spain, where the window will remain open until August 31. Signing Willian would underline Real Madrid’s intention to give Gareth Bale a more prominent role. Real’s new coach, Julen Lopetegui, wants him playing as a more central striker with the freedom previously enjoyed by Cristiano Ronaldo. Sportsmail understands Real’s opening bid is being seriously considered by Chelsea. The European champions have been quiet in the transfer market so far, with £40m right back Alvaro Odriozola their only major acquisition to date. But Real’s bid would give Chelsea another opportunity to get a sizeable fee for Willian, who only has two years left on his deal. Meanwhile, Real are reported to have cooled their interest in Chelsea’s star midfielder, Eden Hazard, deterred by the £150m price tag for the 27-yearold, who could be available in a year’s time for half that amount. Chelsea’s new manager, Maurizio Sarri, seems set to have David Luiz available in his squad for the coming season, too. The Brazilian centre back was out of favour under Antonio Conte after Champions League defeat by Roma last October, appearing only twice in the Premier League for the remainder of the season, fuelling speculation that the 31-year-old would be sold as surplus to requirements. Luiz feels he has a clean slate with Sarri in charge, and has started both pre-season games. ‘I came back to Chelsea to stay here,’ Luiz said. Sarri has told his team he wants ballplaying centre backs and Luiz knows he will have stiff competition to secure a starting spot this season. As well as having the likes of Antonio Rudiger and rising star Ethan Ampadu, Chelsea are also discussing potential deals for Juventus defenders Daniele Rugani and Mattia Caldara. ‘It is good to have fantastic players, more than just 11. You have many players that can play in the starting 11, so it is a positive challenge for everybody.’ Additional reporting: Kieran Gill in Nice