Chelsea ‘most interested’ as Kovačić looks to force his way out of Real Madrid — reports

With transfer deadline day being less than three days away, the rumour mill seems to have stepped into overdrive, as Chelsea have been linked with yet another big money signing in the form of Real Madrid’s hotshot midfielder Mateo Kovačić.

Just yesterday, Chelsea were linked with Lyon’s Nabil Fekir and Athletic’s goal-Kepa though the latter rumor is a bit of a reaction to Courtois’s latest shenanigans.

Incidentally, just as Courtois has refused to train with Chelsea to force his move to Real Madrid, young Kovačić is (maybe) doing the same over at Real Madrid ... to force his move to ... Chelsea?

Unlike Courtois, who had claimed he’d be happy to play for Chelsea this season, Kovačić is already on record, from back in June, in saying that wants to leave due to the lack of consistent playing time at Real.

“I want to play more and the best thing is to leave Madrid.

“I love football and being on the turf, I want the opportunity to be a starter on another team, if I do not play ... I’m not happy.”

-Mateo Kovačić; source: Marca

And yet, the situation is far from straightforward.

First of all, while Marca claimed yesterday that Kovačić was in rebellion (like Courtois), just a few hours later, the official Real Madrid Twitter account posted pictures of the 24-year-old in training.

Marca’s story accounts for this by saying that Kovačić decided after those pictures were taken to stop training, but that sounds just a bit too far-fetched. As ever, one believes Marca at one’s own peril.

All that said, with so much on the line for Chelsea this season, where finishing in the top four or winning the Europa League is a necessity, a signing like Kovačić is needed. As a technical, skillful box-to-box midfielder, he would certainly meet Sarri’s description of a midfielder with different qualities than any of our current group.