Chelsea ‘insist most’ over £45m star as Madrid open door

Chelsea are ‘insisting the most’ in a bid to sign Real Madrid star Eder Militao and have been granted a meeting, according to reports.

Militao had struggled for game time at the Bernabeu after his £45m from Porto in the summer of 2019, but has established himself as under Carlo Ancelotti this season.

READ MORE: We really need to talk about Phil Foden…

Marca (via Sport Witness) claim Chelsea are among several sides to have ‘called the centre-back’ to dicuss his future.

Militao is already the highest paid defender in the club’s history, earning a reported €3.5m a year, but the report claims Madrid are keen to offer him a new and improved deal, despite his current contract having over three years left to run.

But his performances have ‘attracted the attention of half of Europe’, with Chelsea ‘insisting the most’ and ‘asking for a meeting’.

Madrid are said to have granted that request, and talks ‘will take place’ in the near future.

Thomas Tuchel faces the prospect of rebuilding the Chelsea defence this summer, with Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta all out of contract.

There is said to be positivity over talks with the trio, and Rudiger in particular, who recently spoke out on his future at Stamford Bridge.

He said: “I feel great here, I have always said it. I think the way I play you can see that I’m happy here. But there are also other people who have to make decisions.”

Speaking after Chelsea beat Palmeiras to win the FIFA Club World Cup, Rudiger said: “Of course I want to win the Premier League.

“Does it keep getting better and better for me at Chelsea? Yes. We had never won this trophy (FIFA Club World Cup) in Chelsea’s history before. I’m very delighted that we didn’t give up, that we did our thing. We tried everything and won.

“I just want to help, I just want to be important and lead by example. This is the main thing. We all showed character against Palmeiras. None of us gave up.

“Thiago Silva gave away the penalty (for Palmeiras to equalise) but he didn’t lack anything. He continued and continued. And there was a great impact from the guys who came on from the bench, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Malang Sarr, Timo Werner and Saul Nigues. They all worked very hard.

“The Premier League is the toughest competition to be honest because Manchester City set a very high standard. We have to get to a point where we can go on a long marathon.”