Mourinho to raid Chelsea to bring versatile defender to Real Madrid
Published:Chelsea are bracing themselves for a bid from former manager Jose Mourinho for in-form defender Branislav Ivanonic.
The versatile Serbian has been in exquisite form this season for the Blues and the Real Madrid boss sees a place for him in his expansive Los Blancos squad.
Mourinho is known to be in the market for a right-back after recently being linked with England pairing Kyle Walker and Glen Johnson.
The Portuguese boss views the position as the weakest area of his Madrid side, with ex-Liverpool man Alvaro Arbeloa the only genuine right-sided full-back in the team since the conversion of World Cup winner Sergio Ramos to a more central role.
This has led to Lassana Diarra being deployed as a makeshift right-back on numerous occasions this term, a duty he has taken on nobly, but the need for a specialist in this position is clear.
Ivanovic, has been arguably one of Chelsea’s best performers in an otherwise mediocre season for the West London side that sees them struggling to make the Champions League places in the Premier League.
The ex-Lokomotiv Moscow defender’s ability to play anywhere across the backline is also an interesting proposition to Mourinho as it will allow him to utilise remaining funds in other areas of the pitch.
The guaranteed Champions League football and competing for the title every season in one of Europe’s top leagues may be enough to tempt Ivanovic away from London and see him set up base in Mardrid.
It is believed, the 28-year old, who has three goals in his last four outings, would command a fee of around £12m, which will do little to deter vast riches of the Madrid club, who will use their many methods of persuasion in order to lure their target away from Stamford Bridge.
