Chelsea considering record bid for Real Madrid star

Chelsea are weighing up a huge club record bid of £78 million for Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, according to reports in Spain.

Spanish sports newspaper Sport is reporting that Chelsea are considering making a move to sign Real Madrid’s talented Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez, and are willing to pay as much as £78 million for the player.

The Blues are believed to still be in the market for further squad reinforcements before the transfer deadline in two weeks’ time, and new manager Antonio Conte is belied to be especially keen on adding a central defender.

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly is the man Conte has earmarked to bolster his defensive options, and Chelsea are willing to spend up to £40 million to land the Senegal international.

But it now also appears that Conte is keen to add to his attacking options. The Stamford Bridge club have been linked with a big money move for Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, but they may now be about to turn their attention to Rodriguez.

Rodriguez signed for Real Madrid for £63 million from AS Monaco in 2014, following some impressive displays for Colombia at that year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The gifted attacking midfielder impressed during his debut season, but struggled to hold down a first team berth during the last campaign, as question marks arose over his attitude.