Real Madrid are reportedly set to try and prise Marcos Alonso away from Chelsea with a late €30m bid for the Spaniard.
The transfer window remains open until August 31 in Spain, and so the La Liga giants still have time to address any perceived weak areas in their squad.
Aside from Marcelo, they are undoubtedly lacking natural left-backs in the current group, and so targeting a player to bolster that area of the squad would certainly seem to make sense.
With that in mind, it’s reported by The Sun that Alonso has emerged on Real Madrid’s radar, along with city rivals Atletico Madrid, with a €30m offer being touted.
Whether or not that’s enough to test Chelsea’s resolve remains to be seen, but there appears to be two major obstacles standing in the way of the reigning European champions from landing their man.
Firstly, with the transfer window closed for business for English clubs already, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri wouldn’t have an opportunity to try and replace the Spaniard immediately if he did indeed leave for the Spanish capital.
Further, Alonso appears set to play a key role in the Italian tactician’s plans this season having featured prominently thus far, and so it would seem as though the Blues will have no desire at all to see him depart.
As a result, it may be worth Real Madrid considering alternative options with just over a week to go until the deadline, as it may take significantly more to really test Chelsea’s resolve.
Should a deal happen though, it would be the second time Real Madrid have signed a player from Chelsea this summer, with BBC Sport noting that Thibaut Courtois completed a move to the Bernabeu earlier this month.