are weighing up a move for starlet Rafa Marin.
The 20-year-old centre-half is highly-regarded in the Spanish capital and has caught the attention of a number of clubs across the continent.
Marin has just 18 months left on his contract and while Real are eager to tie him down to a new deal, they will cash in on the player if new terms are not agreed.
The defender is still to make his senior debut for the club but has shone for Real’s Castilla side and has been capped at Under-21 level. report Chelsea are among the sides weighing up a move, with and RB Leipzig also interested.
Chelsea are thought to have extensively scouted Marin and while a January move is unlikely, it has not been ruled out at Stamford Bridge.
The report adds the Spaniard is expected to cost between £5million and £10million.
Since Todd Boehly’s takeover in west London, Chelsea has raised their efforts to sign young stars with long-term potential.
Last summer, the club brought in midfielders Carney Chukwuemka and Cesare Casadei along with goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.
Already this January, the club have signed striker David Datro Fofana and Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos, with the outlay for all five players thought to be around £70m.
‘The challenge Chelsea has, when you have 18, 19, 20-year-old stars, you can loan them out to clubs but you hand their development to someone else,’ Boehly said in the summer.
‘Our goal is to ensure we show pathways for our young stars to get on to the Chelsea pitch — while getting them real game time. The way to do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe.’
Chelsea have been extremely busy this month having also signed Benoit Badiashile from Monaco and Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Felix is in line to make his debut against Fulham on Thursday night, with the Blues currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League.
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