Chelsea the losers in Real and Atletico transfer bans

Posted Tuesday, January 19, 2016 by givemesport.com

The transfer bans dished out to La Liga giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid may scupper Chelsea's hopes of landing their best players.

Guus Hiddink's men, who have endured a torrid season so far, have been linked with moves for the likes of Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Antoine Griezmann in order to arrest their slump.

However, with the two sides now forbidden from signing new players in the next two transfer windows, the Blues may have to look elsewhere in their bid to reach the top of English football again.

MADRID BANS

Real and Atletico have been banned for dealings over past transfers, in a punishment that increases the pressure on Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone to get the best out of their current crop of players.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale have regularly been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu, with the former interesting Paris Saint-Germain who could now miss out on their chief transfer target.

Griezmann has long been rumoured to be tickling the fancy of Chelsea - speculation that dates back to his days at Real Sociedad - but Atletico would be reluctant to sell him given they could not splash the cash on a replacement.

The ban will also impact Real's hopes of attempting to prise David de Gea away from the clutches of Louis van Gaal's Manchester United, and Zidane now faces a huge challenge to win silverware during his tenure.

BLUES BLOW

The news of the ban will no doubt irk Hiddink whose side have long been interested in releasing Bale from his turbulent time in the Spanish capital.

Whilst the Welshman can be unplayable on some days, he has yet to succeed Ronaldo as the talisman of the side and reports have been out in full force claiming he could decide to return to the safe haven of the Premier League.

Kroos was a name touted regularly during his days in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, but the central midfielder is another - along with Griezmann at Atletico - who may now have to wait until the summer of 2017 to leave the Spanish capital.

ALTERNATIVE TARGETS?

With the footballing world beginning to digest the news that both Madrid clubs will not be signing or selling top players, Chelsea may have to look elsewhere when it comes to rebuilding their ailing squad.

It will also come as a blow to winger Eden Hazard, with Real's hopes of signing the Belgian as a Ronaldo replacement now on hold.

Chelsea can still make shrewd signings from other clubs, but those in Madrid will be worrying how they fare over the next two years.