Real Madrid 'Ready to Bid' for Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze
By Tom Gott
Real Madrid are the latest side to express an interest in Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze, who also has plenty of suitors from the Premier League.
The 21-year-old Nigerian has impressed since breaking through from Villarreal's academy back in 2018, racking up 13 goals and 12 assists in 90 appearances for his team, and he is seen by many as one of La Liga's most exciting young talents.
Sources have confirmed to 90min that Chukwueze is keen to take the next step in his career and is considering his future, with numerous Premier League sides monitoring his situation.
Manchester United, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Wolves are all keen on the winger, and La Razon now add Real's name to that list.
Los Blancos were left impressed with Chukwueze's performance in their 1-1 draw with Villarreal before the international break, in which the winger managed to win the crucial penalty for his side, and they are now said to be 'ready to bid' for the Nigerian.
Chukwueze beats Courtois to the pass, and Villarreal get a penalty! ?
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) November 21, 2020
Gerard Moreno converts and it's 1-1 ? pic.twitter.com/wV68yQ5kbz
Villarreal are expected to point any potential suitor to Chukwueze's £80m release clause, but Real could try and sweeten the deal by swapping a handful of players, with Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos and Brazilian Reiner both suggested as options.
They might need to do both as Real are also contemplating a bid for centre-back Pau Torres, who comes with his own £60m release clause.
As first revealed by 90min, Real are one of several sides keeping tabs on Torres, who is also high on United's agenda as they look to find a long-term partner for Harry Maguire.
Real may need to rely on swap deals to make the offer more enticing, with the English sides expected to bid harder for Chukwueze and Torres. Zinedine Zidane's team are keen to save money to fund pursuits of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, and dropping a cool £140m on two other players won't exactly help that.
However, the relationship between the two Spanish sides is positive, evidenced by the fact that Real allowed Japanese starlet Takefusa Kubo to move to Villarreal on loan this season, so that may work in Real's favour.