Real Madrid News
Real Madrid closely monitoring former winger’s situation in La Liga amid Tottenham links
As we near the end of the January transfer window, the future of Victor Munoz has been in focus.
The former Real Madrid youth player has done superbly at Osasuna this season, leading to speculation linking him with a big-money move away from the club.
Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as a potential suitor for Munoz, with the Premier League giants reportedly prepared to trigger the winger’s €40 million release clause.
Real Madrid keeping close tabs on Munoz
According to MARCA, Real Madrid are closely monitoring Victor Munoz’s development at Osasuna, and have not ruled out his return to the Santiago Bernabeu.
It must be noted that the club had retained a 50% transfer rights of the player when selling him to Osasuna in a €5 million deal last summer.
Real Madrid also have a buyback clause embedded in Munoz’s contract at Osasuna, which is worth just around €8 million, making this deal quite identical to Nico Paz at Como.
Although Real Madrid have not yet decided if they want to re-sign Munoz, they have been monitoring his progress at Osasuna.
The youngster, after all, has made a solid impression with his ability to dribble past players at will, having averaged 12 dribbles per game this season.
Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing Munoz due to his dribbling prowess in the final third. But Real Madrid are a significant obstacle for the Premier League giants as the club can re-sign the player’s services on a cut-price deal at any given time.
The report adds that Real Madrid consider Munoz a successful investment, especially knowing that the club might require the services of a new winger next season.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
