Report: Chelsea and Real Madrid to battle it out for Marco Reus

It's been whispered in the dark corners of Twitter for a while now, and in posts about André Schürrle as if swap deals were de rigueur in the football world, but let's finally bring this... thing... into the light.  It is after all the international break, and only ("only") a month and a half until the January transfer window, all of which basically makes this the preseason of the January Silly Season.  In fact, it's almost summer already.  Let's get it started!

Transfer of Marco Reus is straight fight between Chelsea & Real Madrid [Marca] http://t.co/FQqPKvmHpK pic.twitter.com/6UUesMPgzi

— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) November 13, 2014

Can I get a BOOM?

The only thing missing from Marca's front page is the cell phone (or perhaps a bright red emergency direct line from Cobham to Dortmund, with an analog dial of course) on which Mourinho will ring Marco Reus and seal the deal right under Real Madrid's nose.  BOOM!  Though apparently the Chelsea manager is now in the business of talking to agents, at least that's what the Spanish tabloid claims.  Boom?

While it's basically an accepted fact, and has been for a while, that 25-year-old Reus will leave struggling BVB at the end of the season, it's also been an almost foregone conclusion that he would follow in the well-worn footsteps of many others before him and end up at Bayern Munich.  Whether Marca putting Real and Chelsea as the frontrunners is out of any actual insider information or just pure speculation and wishful thinking... I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Until then, we can dream, debate, despair over the rumored €25m transfer fee and €10m/year wages (£150k/week).  And whether his habit of picking up random injuries is a concern.  And just who would have to make way from the currently overflowing, especially if we count all the promising loanees, Chelsea attacking midfield queue.