Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is keen to have Real Madrid defender Eder Militao in his ranks from next season and he’s instructed his employers to start working on a potential transfer, according to AS.
Chelsea face the prospect of a complete overhaul of their back line this summer. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta, as well as centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, all look increasingly likely to leave Stamford Bridge as free agents at the end of the season, and there has been no indication that any of them will be signing a new deal between now and then. Rudiger has been heavily linked with Real, while Christensen is reportedly of interest to Bayern Munich and Barcelona. The Catalans are also believed to be after Azpilicueta. The only issue the Blues have been able to resolve so far is a 12-month extension for 37-year-old Thiago Silva.
As for Militao, the 19-cap Brazil international rose through the youth setup at Sao Paulo and earned first-team promotion in 2017. A year later he made his way across the Atlantic to join FC Porto, and that’s the club that received a reported fee of €50 million for his services in 2019 from Real.
Militao was rarely a starter while Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane were at the club, but since they both left last summer, he’s been a standard feature of Carlo Ancelotti’s team. He’s made a total of 31 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring two goals.
There can hardly be any discussion about Militao’s status as a top defensive player, but unfortunately for Chelsea, his contract with Real runs until the summer of 2025 and they apparently intend to discuss a new one with improved terms with his representatives as soon as possible.
