Ever since the retirement of Toni Kroos and the departure of Luka Modric, Real Madrid have been trying to find their perfect replacement for the legendary duo, but have hit a number of stumbling blocks along the way.
The club has tried various combinations of Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelian Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and Arda Guler, but has struggled to find the balance they had with the legendary trio of Kroos, Casemiro, and Modric.
The club has been scouring the transfer market for its ideal player to bring balance back to the midfield. They've been linked to a number of players, including PSG's Vitinha, Al-Hilal's Ruben Neves, and Bayern Munich's Aleksander Pavlovic, but who they will sign remains unknown. Real has its eyes strongly on one of the Premier League's best midfielders, but they would have to pay a pretty penny to secure his signing this summer.
Real Madrid open to swap deal for Chelsea superstar
As reported by Football365, Real Madrid would prefer to pay around €100 million for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez rather than including Aurelien Tchouameni in a deal for the player, but would be willing to offer two players in return for the midfielder.
Fernandez arrived at Stamford Bridge following the 2022 World Cup for €120 million, but he could be on the move again, this time to the Bernabeu. It had previously been suggested that the Premier League club would demand Tchouameni in return, but the Frenchman has become one of the key players in Los Blancos' squad and won't be going anywhere. As a result, he would be excluded from any deal, but the club are open to including two other players.
The report goes on to suggest that Vinicius Jr and Arda Guler could be the two players who are sacrificed to getthe deal for the Chelsea midfielder over the line. Given the season Guler has been having, Real would no doubt be hesitant to let the Turkish international go, however, it's a different story with Vinicius.
The Brazilian is out of contract in 2027, and with all the issues he's been causing this season, getting rid of him for a player that would transform the squad in a much-needed way could be the best move for the club. Enzo has been having a fantastic season for Chelsea so he Premier League side would no doubt be hesitant to let the Argentine go, but if the right offer came in, it could be hard to turn it down.