Real Madrid lodged a £100m double bid for Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and midfielder Willian claims the Daily Mail.
The move comes as little surprise to the West London club where progress on a new deal for the Belgium international has been painfully slow. Courtois, 26, deferred talks last season and now enters the final year of his contract.
Chelsea recognise that time is against them and have yet to dismiss Real’s bid out of hand, especially with the Belgian’s value decreasing beyond September. However, they must sign a replacement by 9th August when the English transfer window closes for purchases.
The Blues are considering a move for Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, 24, although the Toffees are in no mood to sell England’s newly-established Number One.
Signing Brazil international Willian, 29, is more straightforward. Both player and club are happy for him to move on. Barcelona were interested but baulked at Chelsea’s £70m asking price.
Now, the reality of their situation is that the Blues must sell to buy and are keen to do a deal for the player who scored 39 goals in 145 appearances over the course of the past three seasons.
Pressure grew on Florentino Perez over the weekend when the media questioned why Real Madrid, reigning Champions League champions, are finding transfer business so hard to conduct. A double-signing represents a coup for Perez, as well as dealing with the perceived weakness that is Keylor Navas.
