Real Madrid and Chelsea are close to completing deals which will see Eden Hazard and Mateo Kovacic move in opposite directions, say Marca.
The Croatian midfielder is currently on a season-long loan at Chelsea from Madrid and the report claims the London club’s transfer ban is not sufficient to restrict a summer deal.
The 24-year-old has made 48 first-team appearances for the West London club since last summer’s loan deal, but there is no option to buy included in the deal.
Madrid signed the former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder from Italian giants Inter in the summer of 2015 for €30m and are said to want significantly more than that sum in the event of a permanent departure.
The Croat started only 37 La Liga games across three seasons in the Spanish capital with only 10 of those coming last season.
In a separate deal, the outgoing European champions are continuing to pursue their deal for Hazard who Marca had previously reported had agreed a five-year deal at Los Blancos.
The report claims the two clubs are locked in negotiations over a deal, with Chelsea said to be demanding €140m with Madrid hoping to reduce this to nearer €100m.
