Chelsea Ahead of Arsenal in Race for Sami Khedira's Signature with Petr Cech Swap

Chelsea have joined Arsenal in the race for Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira and are willing to send Petr Cech the other way to complete a deal for the German, according to the Daily Express.

Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for the midfielder in the summer but a deal failed to materialise owing to Khedira's wage demands.

It was expected that the German would bow down to the Gunners' wishes in January and join the trio of Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker in the starting line-up.

His arrival would have given the north London club some much-needed steel in the midfield and act as a screen in front of their defence, which has been leaking important goals.

However, with Chelsea now interested and Real Madrid in the market for a goalkeeper, the deal would make much sense for both Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, who can come to an agreement in the upcoming transfer window.

Madrid were initially interested in Manchester United stopper David de Gea, but Louis van Gaal has warned the Spanish club about the stopper, leaving Ancelotti with no option but to look at alternatives.

Cech, who has lost his starting position to Thibaut Courtois, is also considering making his way out of the club and a move to Madrid would be a perfect fit for his ambition and experience.

Meanwhile, Arsenal, who are currently languishing at seventh in the league, nine points behind league leaders Chelsea, are reportedly turning their attention to CheickT iote, with Arsene Wenger getting wind of the Blues' ambitions in January.

The north London club have been linked with a host of defensive midfielders in the summer, with William Carvalho also an option to fall back on should they fail to prise Khedira away from the Madrid shores.