Chelsea have moved ahead of Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City in the race to sign Real Madrid outcast Isco, claims The Sun.
Isco has endured a miserable campaign for Madrid this season and has dropped down the pecking order since Santiago Solari’s appointment at the start of November.
The Spain international is reportedly ready to leave Madrid in January and Chelsea are willing to spend £70m to sign the Spain international next month.
Arsenal are also monitoring the 26-year-old but are yet to firm up their interest, while City do not see Isco as a priority due to their current options in midfield and attack.
Maurizio Sarri’s side signed Mateo Kovacic from Madrid on a season-long loan deal in the summer and now hope to pull off their second raid of the European champions in the space of six months.
Isco’s potential arrival would only plunge the futures of Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek into further doubt and would almost certainly force the latter to leave the club.
The Madrid midfielder has made 11 league appearances this season but has only started five times and has a WhoScored rated below 7.00 in a league campaign for the first time during his spell at the club (6.78).
