Chelsea Transfer News: Luka Modric Rumours Grow, Marco Reus Warned

Chelsea will make another attempt to sign Luka Modric in the summer and will fight Manchester United for the Real Madrid playmaker’s signature, per Anthony Chapman of the Daily Express.

Modric was signed by Real from Tottenham in the summer of 2012 when Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was coach at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mourinho did try to persuade Modric to join him at Chelsea for the current season, only to fail in his approach to bring these skills to the club:

“I called Modric only privately but he doesn’t want to join Chelsea,” Mourinho told Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti (h/t Samuel Stevens of The Independent). “You know I really appreciate Luka Modric and his qualities. But he stays in Real Madrid.”

The 29-year-old is currently sidelined by a thigh injury, as announced by the Croatian Football Federation (via the Press Association, h/t the Daily Mail), but that has not stopped the speculation about his future.

FIFA agent Francois Gallardo, per French outlet Le 10 Sport (h/t Chapman), has claimed that Modric’s wife is unsettled in Madrid.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

But, if Mourinho does try to sign Modric again, he could face competition from Premier League rivals Manchester United. Manager Louis van Gaal has reportedly baulked at the valuation placed on Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, per Chapman, and he is now keen on a £48 million move for Modric.

The ace up Mourinho’s sleeve, though, may be Ramires. The Brazilian was brought to Chelsea by current Real coach Carlo Ancelotti. He has not been a regular in Mourinho’s team and may be offered to Real as a makeweight in a deal for Modric, per Chapman.

Modric is not the only player to be linked with a summer transfer to Stamford Bridge, though. Borussia Dortmund winger Marco Reus is another player on Mourinho’s radar, per the Daily Star (via the Daily Telegraph, h/t Jamie Sanderson and Vaishali Bhardwaj of Metro).

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Reus has a clause in his contract, per Jamie Jackson of The Guardian, which allows him to leave Dortmund at the end of the season for a reported fee of £20 million.

Further interest in Reus has reportedly emerged from Manchester City, who are confident of signing the Germany international in the summer, per Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star.

There have also been reports that Reus will make an announcement on his future in March:

Dortmund’s position in second bottom of the Bundesliga table has fuelled talk that Reus could be on his way in the summer. But Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp would be upset if a lack of European football led to players leaving. He told German magazine SportBild (h/t Karolos Grohmann of Reuters): "At the moment I am not in the least bit interested in qualifying for the Champions League next season. If there is a player who would want to leave just because of a one-year absence from the Champions League, then I must have completely misjudged him."

If Reus does decide to leave Dortmund, then Bayern Munich’s Philipp Lahm hopes the attacker will stay in the Bundesliga.

He told Sky Deutschland (h/t talkSPORT) recently: “It is first of all a good thing that quality national team players, who can strengthen any team, stay in the league. It is an advantage for the Bundesliga if the stars choose to remain in Germany.”

Reus is certainly a player capable of strengthening most teams, and he would be a fantastic addition to the Premier League. He would also be a bargain at £20 million, so there is likely to be a big battle for his services in the summer.

If Chelsea were able to sign both Reus and Modric, then their squad would be even more fearsome than it currently is. Reus would be an upgrade on Andre Schurrle, while Modric would offer a greater creative outlet than Ramires.

But Chelsea will not find it easy to sign both players, especially when Financial Fair Play regulations always have to be taken into account.