Real Madrid are reportedly hoping to win the race to sign Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar.
The Slovakia international has entered the final year of his contract with the Nerazzurri and was the subject of interest from several clubs in the summer.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte was supposedly keen to reunite with Skriniar, but the Lilywhites instead swooped for Barcelona's Clement Lenglet.
With Tottenham out of the picture, Paris Saint-Germain moved to the head of the queue to sign Skriniar, but Inter's demands proved too high for the French champions to meet.
Inter were thought to have been demanding as much as €70m (£61.5m) to part ways with the 27-year-old, in spite of the fact that he could leave for free in 2023.
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Now, Football Insider claims that Real Madrid are now seeking to strike a deal for Skriniar as a free agent after securing a similar move for Antonio Rudiger in the summer.
Rudiger departed Chelsea upon the expiration of his contract and is now battling Eder Militao and David Alaba for starts, while Carlo Ancelotti also has Nacho Fernandez in his ranks.
However, Tottenham and PSG are expected to reignite their interest if it becomes clear that Skriniar will not sign a new deal at San Siro, while Chelsea are also said to retain their admiration.
Skriniar left Sampdoria in 2017 to sign for Inter for a £30.6m fee, and the centre-back has since amassed 11 goals and four assists in 223 games for the Nerazzurri in all tournaments.
The 6ft 2in defender has started all eight of Inter's games in all tournaments this season, and he has won one Serie A title, one Coppa Italia and one Supercoppa Italiana in the past five years.
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PSG ultimately refused to bow to Inter's demands over Skriniar, but Christophe Galtier's side have since lost Presnel Kimpembe to a hamstring injury, which will render him unavailable for six weeks.
Galtier was asked earlier this week if he regrets not pursuing a deal for Skriniar, with Danilo Pereira currently deputising alongside Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos in PSG's three-man backline.
However, Galtier has no qualms over dipping into his academy ranks, telling a press conference: "We obviously wanted an extra central defender with this crazy schedule. We were right. It was impossible in the last week to finalise it.
"I understand my president for not accepting Inter Milan's conditions. We're going to make do with the squad we have available. I have versatile players.
"Will we have to integrate a young player or change the organisation? We'll see. There are young players with great potential. It was important for me and Luis Campos to recruit a defender, but unfortunately we didn't manage to do it."
Inter also resisted offers for Alessandro Bastoni in the summer window, with the 23-year-old heavily linked with Tottenham before staying put in Italy.
Ben Knapton
