Chelsea 'have already made contact with Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez'

Chelsea have reportedly already touched base with Atletico Madrid over a deal for Saul Niguez.

The La Liga champions are thought to be open to selling the 26-year-old this summer, with Saul starting 22 of Atletico's 38 games en route to the 2020-21 Spanish top-flight title.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich are all supposedly in the hunt for Saul's services, but Chelsea are understood to have stolen a march on their rivals in the race for the midfielder.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Blues have contacted Atletico over the possibility of a summer deal for Saul, but the Colchoneros' asking price could prove to be a stumbling block.

The report adds that it would take a fee of £68.8m to prise Saul away from the Wanda Metropolitano - a price that Chelsea are not willing to fork out while they prioritise a top-class striker.

Saul's contract at Atletico does not expire for another five years, but his struggles last season led to him being left out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad.