The overcrowded Real Madrid midfield might eventually lead the club to sell a player or two, and Chelsea would be very interested in signing Sami Khedira.
According to the Daily Mirror, the German international, who arrived at the club while Jose Mourinho was in charge, is wanted in Stamford Bridge by the same manager, who is trying to find the right player to bolster his defensive midfield, which probably was the weakest spot in Chelsea’s lineup.
The arrival of Marco van Ginkel is promising, but it seems like the Dutch midfielder won’t be getting too many chances this season, and he is a lot more attacking in his nature in any case. Chelsea don’t have a lot of options in the middle of the pitch, with Frank Lampard going to have a limited role this season, and Obi Mikel not considered someone trustworthy enough to hold the midfield along with Ramires.
Khedira, 26, arrived to Real Madrid from Stuttgart for €14 million in 2010, and has since gone on to play 78 times for the club, scoring 5 goals. He has been starting in the preseason matches so far as the anchorman in Ancelotti’s so-called 4-1-4-1 or whatever it is you prefer to call it, but the notion coming out of Madrid is that once the season begins, Asier Illarramendi and Xabi Alonso will be preferred in that role, leaving Khedira on the bench.
He can play in more than just the defensive midfield, as he has shown last season a few times occupying the right back position. He’s not a natural there, but it works fine in matches in which Real Madrid are pushing very hard to get the goal, like in their second leg against Manchester United last season, with Real Madrid having a one man advantage.
If Khedira does sign for Chelsea (at the alleged price of £20 million), he’ll probably push either Mikel or Ramires from the lineup.