Chelsea must overcome Real Madrid to land Benfica star Axel Witsel. De Telegraaf says Chelsea are making the Belgium international their No1 midfield target for the remainder of the summer market.

However, Lisbon sources say Real retain first refusal on Witsel thanks to an agreement struck with Benfica over Rodrigo Moreno's move from Madrid.

Chelsea are prepared to go as high as €25 million for Witsel, whose buyout clause is set at €40 million.

Piet de Visser, Chelsea's prime transfers adviser, has been following Witsel since he was first breaking through at Standard Liege.