Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest on N'Golo Kante and Nacho Rumours

Real Madrid have been dealt a blow in their reported pursuit of Leicester City's N'Golo Kante after Chelsea lodged a bid for the French midfielder.

Per Abel Romera of AS, Kante is one of Real manager Zinedine Zidane's key targets "to provide some support and competition for Casemiro in the defensive midfield role." 

However, Chelsea have made the first move for the 25-year-old and look to be the front-runners to sign him, bidding £27 million plus £3 million in add-ons, per the Guardian's Fabrizio Romano and Marcus Christenson.

Kante's release clause is £20 million, but the bidding has been forced up after Shanghai SIPG reportedly tabled a €40 million (£33.2 million) offer for the France international, per Romera.

According to Matt Law in the Telegraph, Kante has no interest in moving to China and has "set his heart" on a move to the Blues. Therefore, Real will have to move quickly and make an attractive offer to the midfielder and to Leicester if they are to be in with a chance of signing him.

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe believes Kante was the best player in the Premier League last term as the Foxes won the title:

Real have a strong core of players in the centre of midfield, but the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are not the best defensively.

Casemiro is the only reliable defensive-midfield option for Zidane, and Kante would be the ideal signing to add further depth.

His ability to interrupt opposition attacks is quite remarkable, while he also has a fine passing range and is comfortable on the ball, per Opta:

As a defensive reinforcement at Real, he would be a brilliant addition, but it looks as though Los Blancos will need to move fast in order to sign Kante.

Meanwhile, Real defender Nacho looks close to sealing a move to Serie A side Roma after his agent, Jose Segui, "was spotted in Trigoria (location of the Italian club's head office)," per AS.

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Per Italian football writer Alfredo Pedulla (via Calciomercato.com), Real are happy to let Nacho move to Roma on loan with a compulsory buyout clause set to €10 million (£8.4 million).

The 26-year-old Spaniard wants to establish his position at Real with Zidane before committing to a permanent move to Italy, but he is aware of the competition he faces to secure a starting spot at the Santiago Bernabeu, per AS.

Per WhoScored.com, he made only 12 starts in La Liga last term and is unlikely to get many more in the coming campaign. Accordingly, a switch to Roma would seemingly be beneficial for all involved.