Real Madrid 'interested in four Chelsea players'

With Frank Lampard's side virtually guaranteed to miss out on a place in the top four of the Premier League table and potentially European football altogether, their hopes of Champions League qualification rest on going all the way in this year's tournament.

The Blues went down 2-0 to holders Real in the first leg of their quarter-final last week, though, and a miraculous turnaround is needed in Tuesday's second leg to keep their hopes of European glory alive.

Regardless of whether Chelsea can qualify for continental competition for the 2023-24 season, a mass exodus of players from Lampard's inflated squad is likely to take place, as Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali seek to trim the club's wage bill.

Real Madrid are no strangers to poaching players from Chelsea - having prised Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger away from the English capital last year - and Fichajes claims that Los Blancos have now earmarked four of Lampard's squad as ideal targets.

All of Reece James, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic - who left Real Madrid to sign for Chelsea - are believed to be on Perez's radar ahead of a busy summer window.

While Chelsea are not expected to entertain bids for James, the midfield trio of Mount, Loftus-Cheek and Kovacic are all facing uncertain futures, as each player's contract expires in 2024.

Mount's situation has been a hot-button topic for a number of months now, as talks with the playmaker apparently stalled due to Chelsea's reluctance to make him one of their top earners.

Liverpool are keeping a close eye on developments surrounding Mount, who has also endured a difficult season on the field with just three goals, but Chelsea are now said to be confident of striking an agreement over a new contract with the 24-year-old.

That is more than can be said for Loftus-Cheek or Kovacic, though, and Real Madrid supposedly view the former as an ideal rotational option for the 2023-24 season.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are not believed to have entered talks over a new contract for Kovacic, who spent four years at Real Madrid between 2015 and 2019 before departing for Stamford Bridge.

The Croatia international has been a key player for both Lampard and Graham Potter this season, but Chelsea are running the risk of losing him for nothing in 2024 if his future is not sorted out this summer.

Finally, Chelsea moved quickly to tie James down to a new long-term deal until 2028 earlier this season, and the 23-year-old is seen as an indispensable member of their squad.

Nevertheless, Real are apparently willing to fork out as much as €100m (£88.1m) to sign James as a replacement for Dani Carvajal, but they are in no rush to do so.

Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio gave Real a 2-0 win over Chelsea at the Bernabeu last week, but the Blues have advanced from five of their last seven Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg away from home.