While most teams would jump at the chance to sign Chris Froome, the reality is that few teams can afford the four-time Tour de France winner.

The leading candidates consist of wealthy teams that can afford to register multiple Grand Tour leaders, and Bahrain McLaren meets both criteria, but manager Rod Ellingworth told Cycling News that the team is in pending contract negotiations

"The team has been in negotiations with the team for some time.

Former Team Sky manager Rod Ellworth, like many former riders, revealed that he and Froome are in contact.

Ellingworth told Cycling News, "I don't think it's right to talk about whether we're going to get him or not and what the likelihood is," effectively ending talk of a possible mid-season move.

"In any case, I still talk to everyone at Ineos a lot. Some of them see me as someone who would give me an honest opinion, even if I were working for another company. I've talked to some of them, and I've talked to Chris, and our conversations have been about how Chris is doing and the situation we're in. [Just like you would talk to Luke Rowe or Geraint Thomas. We've known each other for a long time. So I called Chris and it wasn't just about the contract. Yes, we talked about the situation, his crash, his future."

The current transfer market is complicated. Sponsors are pulling out and wages are being cut or postponed as teams try to stave off the economic impact of COVID-19.

Ellingworth's team is no exception, and publicly declaring specific interest in a player as valuable as Froome could have a destabilizing effect on the roster. At the same time, Ellingworth has seen how dominant Froome can be in the Grand Tours and believes the former Tour winner can recover from his 2019 crash.

"One thing I can say is that he comes at a high price. There are only so many teams that can afford him, and I can't say either way because I don't know what will happen to the team down the road. Some doors will be closed, some doors will be opened, and three months ago we were singing and dancing as a new team, and now because of the virus we are seething like any other team," Ellingworth said.

"I'm not saying he's someone who is absolutely targeted by us. What we are doing is building a team with the goal of winning Grand Tours. We know Chris is out of contract and we have talked to him. I'm not saying we are looking at him as an option right now, but we have to look at everyone. But right now we have other things to think about than getting Chris Froome. I know he's looking all over the place, but it's probably more likely that he stays where he is right now."

Ellingworth, who announced that Bahrain McLaren's main goal for the next few years is to challenge Team Ineos and the rest of the peloton for the Tour de France title, citing Froome's character and a similar situation involving another former Team Sky rider of his He added that he believes Froome could return to the top of the sport after his crash in 2019.

"What I know about Chris is that when he says he can still win, you can't let him off the hook for that. I remember when Luke Rowe had his accident. It was a bad accident with multiple broken bones, but he came back stronger. As far as I know Chris, he is the right fighter."

Bahrain McLaren signed several well-known riders over the winter to strengthen its stage racing core. Rohan Dennis left for the 2019 Tour de France, and Wout Poels and Mikel Landa (who both raced for Ellingworth with Team Sky) were brought in along with Pero Bilbao.

Landa's inclusion was a statement of intent for the team's stage race plans, but the Spaniard is younger than Froome and has no Grand Tour results to show for it. In terms of experience and track record, however, Froome has the edge over the former domestique.

"We have a team in Bilbao, Landa, and Poels. Chris will feel he needs to prove himself again." That's why he did all that work. Dave Brisford will be sitting back and waiting to see what happens.

Interestingly, Ellingworth hinted at the idea of having the opportunity to have more than one Grand Tour leader at Bahrain McLaren in the future. He acknowledged that Froome winning his fifth Tour with his current team would be an important achievement and that his own focus is on Randa in 2020, but the door to 2021 seems to be open, albeit slightly.

"For Chris, if he can stay where he is and win another Tour, that would be a great story. But at the end of the day, with a rider like Egan and Guerin, everyone is thinking the same thing. Their rivalry is very good and they respect each other.

"Right now I want to focus on Mikel. I think he has a long way to go. I believe in a structure that needs pressure from within. The structure that Sky and Ineos have, a leader and backup, has proven to be very good. It's tough to manage, but it's working."