Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Luka Modric and Ramires Rumours

Big change could be coming to Chelsea's midfield this year, with speculation that the Blues are one of two major Premier League outfits contending for Luka Modric's signature, while Ramires could be heading for the Stamford Bridge exit.

Modric is currently concentrating on a return to fitness following an ankle injury, but Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star says both Chelsea and Manchester United are willing to fork out £48 million for the Croatian.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has leaned on Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos to fill the hole left by Modric's injury, but the Italian would undoubtedly like to see all three remain at the club.

Malata quotes agent Francois Gallardo as stating that it's Modric's wife who could play a factor in his Premier League return, as she's apparently struggling to settle in the Spanish capital: "Modric is the engine of Real Madrid, but the problem it is his wife who did not fit into Madrid in Spain."

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder would find competition equally difficult in west London, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic to contest against for a midfield place.

Real Madrid TV presenter Phil Kitromilides has quoted Ancelotti as saying the playmaker is closing in on his return to the field, however, forecasting that he should be back in the side within the next few weeks:

Spanish newspaper AS recently voiced the opinion that Modric has been a key missing ingredient in the Real midfield of late:

Jose Mourinho knows Modric's talent all too well after working with him at the Bernabeu, but convincing the European champions to sell one of their biggest assets will be a tough task.

However, any acquisition would be helped by the departure of Ramires, and a statement released by LP Sports (h/t Ben Jefferson of the Express), his representatives, refuses to rule out a move:

"

There are no negotiations underway for a departure of Chelsea's Ramires. The club has not given any information about a possible exchange with another team. His departure is unlikely because Ramires has been selected by Jose Mourinho regularly.

But nothing is final in football. Big European clubs are always interested in Ramires and follow the player. If a proposal is made in the future that pleases both Chelsea and the player, we will study it carefully. But for now, there is nothing.

"

With the arrival of Fabregas, Ramires has moved further away from Mourinho's starting XI and taken on more of a fringe role.

During the club's FA Cup tie against Watford in early January, The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke hinted  that Ramires was perhaps now one of the club's inferior options, alongside John Obi Mikel:

As long as Matic and Fabregas reign at the club's core, it's difficult to see the Brazilian finding his way back into the first-team setup as an outright starter.

As such, it's understandable if the player decides his future lies elsewhere, a similar predicament facing Mohamed Salah, whose situation was recently discussed by Bleacher Report's Garry Hayes:

Should an interested party offer the right fee for his talents, Chelsea would presumably consider the option of selling Ramires but only if they felt a superior replacement was on his way.

Modric may not be ready for a return to England just yet, but if Mourinho could convince his former pledge to join the Chelsea cause, Ramires' sale could facilitate another changing of the guard in midfield.