Real Madrid News
Ancelotti talks Militao, Benzema, Kroos, Alaba, Modric ahead of Sociedad vs Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media as part of his pre-game press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s gameweek 33 fixture against Real Sociedad. Los blancos are strongly holding on to second place in the league as of now, trailed by Atletico Madrid.
Ancelotti opened by heaping praise onto Sociedad, who are currently sitting fourth in the league, and well within a chance for European places.
“Tomorrow it will be demanding, because Real Sociedad is a great team. There are casualties for injuries and penalties, so it will be tough. The schedule is also complicated, but let’s go with all the desire in the world.”
“Militao is fine. He had a personal issue and arrived with the training started. The Valverde thing has to be evaluated. We’ll see. Alaba is not available either, having touched the ball for the first time today. And we’ll see Modric, he can make it on Saturday,” Ancelotti said about Militao’s absence from training today.
The Italian gaffer was asked whether the team needed a ‘new Benzema’ in the summer transfer window, to which he replied, “In the project we must be signing a number nine, because Karim has an age. But he works very well, despite the ups and downs. Rodrygo, Vinicius, Asensio… the problem in these two years has not been the attack.”
Benzema scored three hattricks in the last month, and played the entirety of the 90 minutes against Almeria as well. With the Manchester City game up next, the Frenchman could be rested tomorrow, confirmed Ancelotti.
“It may be. He was a little tired today, but if he’s okay, he can play. Tomorrow I will only rotate for obvious casualties; if we play at 10:00 PM, there is recovery time for Saturday.”
Speaking further about the schedule, he said, “We arrived at this section in good condition. Tomorrow’s problem is the short rest time, with three days, but it is important to win and we must show the best version.”
Toni Kroos has been playing as a no. 6 for a large part of the season, and according to Ancelotti, enjoys that role a much as any other.
“He likes to play, regardless of the position. In some games you need a higher pivot and in others, one of his characteristics. He has no problem playing there, I didn’t have to convince him.”
Speaking about the league situation, Ancelotti praised runaway leaders Barcelona, suggesting that they have won the league instead of Madrid throwing it away.
“I always point out the merit of the rival. Barcelona has scored a lot of points and has merit.”
“I think sometimes we think we’re going to fix everything with the offensive quality. And that’s not always going to be the case. We must improve defensive concentration,” he said about Madrid’s defensive holes.
Source: Real Madrid TV
Real Madrid News
Harry Kane ‘very close’ to completing Real Madrid move, only final details remain – report
Jude Bellingham’s move to Real Madrid was finally closed earlier today as officially confirmed by Borussia Dortmund on their website. Yet, the offices at Santiago Bernabeu have not even taken a break to celebrate their success.
According to reports from Alfredo Pedullà, Los Blancos are now completely focused on the acquisition of Harry Kane. The English striker’s arrival is very close to approaching closure and only a few details remain to be sorted.
The Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur representatives reportedly held a meeting today over the striker’s transfer. The agenda was to agree on a number for the transfer fee.
The Premier League side began the proceedings with an expectation of €100 to €110 million in exchange for Kane. However, the Merengues suggested a lower point at €80 to €90 million, albeit with the option to include bonuses.
There is not much separating the two parties at the moment, and the minor gap will be bridged in the coming days. Overall, the meeting ended with a broad understanding between the two clubs.
Carlo Ancelotti sees the English striker as the centre-piece of his attack for next season given the recent departure of Karim Benzema. After all, Kane has been one of football’s most consistent goalscorers over the past decade.
Yet, Los Blancos cannot afford to let their guard down with one signing and will need to rope in at least two more names in attack to serve as backup options. The exits of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Eden Hazard leave them with no squad depth, after all.
Kane has scored 30, 17, and 23 goals in his last three seasons in the Premier League and is the epitome of consistency. Further, he had three assists in his most recent league season and created 14 big chances.
