Chelsea have reportedly made contact to trump Arsenal in the race to sign Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, as per Caught Offside.
The Blues initially wanted to sign a new creative midfielder last summer to support Cole Palmer. A plethora of names were linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, with Fermin Lopez and Nico Paz being among them.
However, the West London club eventually decided to sign Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton & Hove Albion on a short-term loan deal. The Argentinian struggled to find regular game time during the first half of this season, so Chelsea opted to send him back to the Seagulls. He has now joined Leeds United for the remainder of this campaign.
Palmer, meanwhile, has struggled with a groin problem thus far this season, starting only 11 matches across all competitions. So, it appears Chelsea have started exploring options to strengthen the No.10 position.
Caught Offside claim that Chelsea are keen on signing Guler and have already made contact multiple times to learn about the details of signing him. Although the Turkish international isn’t desperate to leave Real Madrid just yet, Chelsea are ready to put their best efforts to persuade him to join.
On the other hand, with the 20-year-old’s contract set to run until 2029, Los Blancos aren’t in any rush to sell him just yet. However, they might be open to changing their stance should they receive an offer worth up to £87m.
The report state that Chelsea aren’t the only club interested in Guler as Arsenal are also in this race and are considering upgrading the No.10 position following Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze’s inconsistent performances thus far this season.
Battle
Arsenal hold a long-standing interest in the Real Madrid star, with the Gunners keeping a close eye on his development since October 2024. Now, they could make a move to secure his service finally in January or next summer.
Guler is a technically gifted left-footed creative midfielder, but is also efficient in the box-to-box role. Furthermore, he can provide cover on the right flank if needed.
After remaining on the periphery over the last two seasons, Guler has been displaying promising performances this season, making 14 goal contributions across all competitions.
He is a highly talented player and could be a shrewd acquisition for Arsenal or Chelsea should either club eventually manage to secure his service.
