How Real Madrid would line up with Chelsea targets James and Havertz

Stuart Telford

• 31 Mar 2023 17:56 BST
• 3 min read

Real Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Reece James and Kai Havertz from Chelsea. How would they line up if they did?

The path from Stamford Bridge to the Santiago Bernabeu has become well-trodden in recent seasons, with Thibault Courtois joining a year before Eden Hazard became Real's record signing in a €146.1 million deal in 2019.

While Courtois and Hazard were signed with just a year left on their Chelsea deals, James and Havertz have been bolted down in the longer term by the Blues. However, they may have to sell some assets soon to steer clear of Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

READ: Real Madrid plot double Chelsea transfer raid

And James and Havertz are two players they want, the former as a successor to Dani Carvajal, while the latter is a player they have had their eye on since his Bayer Leverkusen days.

Madrid with James and Havertz?

Havertz may have been leading the line for Chelsea this season - and he is up to seven goals in the Premier League after finding some form under Graham Potter - but with Karim Benzema signing on for another year at Real, he would likely have to play off the Frenchman in the final third.

That could come in useful, however, with Federico Valverde, the incumbent in the position, needed elsewhere. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are 37 and 33 respectively, but it is the former who has been more vocal about his intent to extend his stay at the Bernabeu, with speculation mounting that Kroos could retire.

READ: Modric's response when asked about joining Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia

James would be a like-for-like replacement for Carvajal at right-back, but another former Chelsea teammate, Antonio Rudiger, might get forced out of the side with Eduardo Camavinga's emergence as a left-back.

Another France international, the midfielder, he has filled in ahead of Ferland Mendy for club and country in recent months, with his performances there allowing David Alaba to resume his position in central defence.

The side will likely be backstopped by Courtois, whether or not Carlo Ancelotti leaves for Brazil at the end of the season, but Hazard, despite his hefty fee, has long since been on the sidelines and that is likely to continue as he sits out the final year of his contract.