Chelsea may be set to miss out on one of their man transfer targets.
That follows news that Real Madrid may be ready to pay up to £80 million to sign Joško Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.
Already highly rated across Europe, Gvardiol has only burnished his reputation with his performances for Croatia at the World Cup in Qatar, and has helped them reach the quarter-finals where they will next play Brazil.
He has previously spoken that he may one day move to the Premier League, but Real may now be ready to move for him instead, although probably not until next summer.
There is likely to be some departures from their squad, potentially freeing up room for the Croatian as well as giving them head room to accommodate his financial demands.
He only signed a new deal with the Bundesliga side in September, and is under contract with them until 2027.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.