Real Madrid have reportedly joined the race to sign Italian international, Daniele Rugani, who is also a summer target for Chelsea
According to a report by Spanish publication Don Balon, Daniele Rugani is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. The European champions have joined Chelsea in pursuit of the Italian international, with Juventus slapping a €40 million price tag on him.
This summer’s transfer window has been characterised by several long dragging transfer sagas. One such saga has involved Daniele Rugani. For a couple of months now, the 23-year-old has been the subject of intense speculation around his future, with Chelsea reportedly being the front-runners in his pursuit.
The Blues aren’t alone in the race to sign Rugani anymore, though. Real Madrid too, seem to have entered the market for a centre-back, with the Italian international, Chelsea target their priority now.
So far, a centre-back hasn’t really been a priority for Real Madrid, with the search of a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo taking the spotlight. But, with not a lot of quality beyond first-choice pairing of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, the interest in Rugani does make some sense, especially with Jesus Vallejo often flattering to deceive.
Chelsea, on the other hand, need to look towards the future, with the likes of Gary Cahill and David Luiz facing uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are thus, eyeing Rugani a top class three-pronged central defensive pool of the 23-year-old, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
Manager Maurizio Sarri will be hopeful of using his relationship with the player to secure a possible deal, with the Italian guiding his compatriot for two years at Empoli. Chelsea are even reportedly in advanced talks with Juventus over a possible deal. But, Real Madrid are attempting to steal a march on the West Londoners in their bid to land the player.
In fact, the report suggests that Real Madrid have been in talks over Rugani since the sale of Ronaldo to Juventus. One perplexing part of the report though, suggests that Los Blancos are looking at Rugani as their next first-choice partner to Sergio Ramos, which comes as a surprise in wake of Raphael Varane’s exploits at the World Cup.
But, if Real Madrid do sign Rugani, the 23-year-old will provide stiff competition to both Ramos and Varane, while also being a potential long-term successor to the club captain. Chelsea though, will hope to conclude the deal quickly, with Los Blancos’ entrance into the picture possibly complicating matters for them.
The report also claims that Real Madrid are willing to meet Juventus’ €40 million valuation of the Italian international, which puts them in a great position as opposed to Chelsea. But, it contradicts recent comments by Rugani’s agent in saying that the player is eager to end his time with the Bianconeri.
The Daniele Rugani transfer saga has taken another interesting turn. With Real Madrid entering the fray, Chelsea can certainly not rest easy and will have to step up their efforts to wrap up negotiations quickly or risk losing him to the European champions.
