Real Madrid mainstay has rejected Chelsea, wants to become the club captain

Over the past couple of seasons, Federico Valverde has grown into one of the most important players at Real Madrid.

The midfielder has been a permanent fixture in Carlo Ancelotti’s team, be it in midfield or on the right wing, playing a starring role in the success that the team achieved.

As far as last season goes, Valverde featured in 56 matches across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and setting up seven more for his teammates.

Valverde’s exploits coupled with the increased competition in midfield have led to him attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League.

Chelsea, for one, are said to be very keen on signing the 24-year-old midfielder this summer. But according to AS, Valverde has already rejected the approaches from Chelsea and as things stand, the Uruguayan international has ambitions of becoming the captain of Real Madrid.

This is not the first time that Valverde’s name has been linked with the captaincy at the Santiago Bernabeu. Reports in the past have mentioned that the Uruguayan dreams of growing into that role while people at the club also see him as a future skipper.

Real Madrid, as such, have no intentions of letting Valverde leave the club anytime and the midfielder, too, is uninterested in a move away despite the interest from Chelsea as well as Liverpool, who were also understood to be sniffing around.

But with seven midfielders at the club and only three spots to compete for, it will certainly be interesting to see how Carlo Ancelotti manages to juggle his options and keep Valverde in his starting XI on a regular basis.

Some reports have even suggested that the 24-year-old ace could be fielded on the right flank more frequently than in midfield, where he would have to compete with the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, and new boy Jude Bellingham.