Real Madrid 'assessing possibility of signing Chelsea defender'

At the beginning of the season, the full-back was made the Blues captain by new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the move deemed a natural progression for the academy graduate.

However, the 24-year-old has endured another frustrating campaign, being restricted to just 451 minutes in all competitions due to injury.

Having undergone hamstring surgery in December, it remains unclear whether the England international will be risked at any point during the run-in.

Over the weekend, though, it was claimed that James may be made available for transfer by co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital as they consider ways to generate the necessary funds to fulfil the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability criteria.

The report in question suggested that Boehly and Clearlake would look to try to sell James for a fee in the region of £60m.

As it stands, a club being willing to pay that figure for a player who has well-documented injury issues and would need to prove that his hamstring surgery was a success appears unlikely.

Furthermore, James is yet to sufficiently experience the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband at his boyhood club, while his contract runs until the end of 2027-28.

Nevertheless, according to Fichajes, Real are continuing to monitor the situation as they consider whether to step up their long-term interest in the player.

Although Real are sitting at the top of the La Liga standings and hold a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals, Carlo Ancelotti has issues to solve at right-back.

Long-term incumbent Dani Carvajal is now 32 years of age, as