Chelsea transfer hope revealed after Vinicius Junior makes surprise Real Madrid 'decision'

Chelsea have been named amongst top European clubs reportedly keeping a watch of Vinicius Junior's developing contract situation at Real Madrid.

This week the Brazilian winger's name has been the centre of attention, though that has not been to do with his future in La Liga. Instead, outrage was caused when it came to light Vinicius - who contributed 26 goals and 11 assists last term - would not be handed the Ballon d'Or award at Monday night's ceremony.

He was up against Chelsea's Cole Palmer and 30 others, though in the end both were beaten to this personal accolade by Manchester City midfielder Rodri. Real Madrid as a club boycotted the ceremony, despite the fact they were awarded men's club of the year and Carlo Ancelotti won men's coach of the year.

Now it has come to light that despite this show of solidarity with their player, it is not entirely happy families over in the Spanish capital. Relevo have revealed that the 15-time Champions League winners attempted to start contract renewal talks with Vinicius before the season started, though the player dealt an instant blow by rebuffing their attempt.

This came down the fact the 24-year-old is in no rush to make any decisions regarding his future, with his current deal at the Santiago Bernabeu due to expire in 2027.

Whilst partly motivated to reward their key player, it was also written that Los Blancos' desire to settle matters quickly comes down to the desire to avoid a 'Kylian Mbappe situation'. The difference would be that they lose one of the continent's top talents rather than signing one at no cost.

That feeling of anxiety will certainly be growing now that Chelsea - alongside Man United and Paris Saint-Germain - are linked with interest in a follow-up by the same Spanish publication.

Not long ago, pressure also grew as Brazilian outlet ge.globo claimed that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was willing to fork out €1bn (£843.98m) over the course of five years to secure Vinicius a move to Al-Ahli, whilst handing the player more than 13 times his salary in Spain.

It is ultimately said that Real Madrid will eventually attempt to kickstart talks again soon as their 'desperation' grows.