Real Madrid News
Benzema, Alaba to return to Real Madrid training next Saturday – report
According to journalist Arancha Rodriguez (h/t RM4Arab), Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and David Alaba will return to the club next Saturday and rejoin training ahead of the resumption of the La Liga season later this month.
Benzema has not played for Los Blancos since the first week of November when he featured against Celtic in the UEFA Champions League. Having struggled with muscular discomfort, the Frenchman has missed a good number of matches for the club already.
While he looked set to recover in time for the FIFA World Cup, a thigh injury in training ruled him out of the France squad for the tournament in Qatar. Having returned to Madrid, Benzema soon departed to the Reunion Islands for a vacation.
With his recovery believed to be close to completion, Benzema is set to start training again with Carlo Ancelotti and the Real Madrid players who have not travelled to the World Cup starting next Saturday.
Benzema will be joined by defender David Alaba, who was also given an extended break even though his national team, Austria, are not participating in the World Cup.
But they did play two friendly matches against Andorra and Italy in November, with Alaba participating in both those matches. Hence, the versatile defender was also given a longer time off by manager Ancelotti.
The rest of the Real Madrid players who are not at the World Cup, such as Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos, and Lucas Vazquez, among others, resumed training on December 1.
They will soon be joined by Benzema and Alaba, as well as Los Blancos’ stars who have been eliminated from the World Cup such as Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.
The reigning La Liga champions resume the season with an away match against Real Valladolid on December 30. Real Madrid are trailing Barcelona in the table currently and will hope to restart the campaign on a winning note.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool monitoring 19-year-old Bundesliga wonderkid – Romano
According to Fabrizio Romano, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Liverpool are all monitoring Bayer Leverkusen and Germany wonderkid Florian Wirtz.
After recovering from his ACL injury, the teenage sensation has been slowly working his way back to his best form. So far this term, Wirtz has managed to rack up a tally of two goals and six assists from 13 matches in all competitions.
The 19-year-old’s talent and potential have never been in question and hence it does not come as a surprise that elite clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Liverpool are all keeping tabs on the German international.
A versatile attacking midfielder, Wirtz is capable of playing anywhere in the final third of the pitch and backs up with top-notch end product. Be it as a false-nine or in a more withdrawn role, the youngster has excelled for Bayer Leverkusen, catching the attention of top teams.
Real Madrid, for their part, are also understood to be among Wirtz’s admirers. Given the situation surrounding Karim Benzema’s fitness and the lack of backup at the top, the youngster could be an option, as he has shown potential while operating through the middle.
But Barcelona also have a strong interest in the teenager with reports even suggesting that they have already made contact with his father to enquire about his situation.
At the same time, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is understood to be a huge admirer of his fellow German and with Roberto Firmino on his way out, Wirtz could be lined up as a possible replacement.
However, Romano adds that the expectation is that Wirtz could stay at Bayer Leverkusen for one more year and depart Germany once the UEFA Euro 2024 is out of the way.
For now, there have been talks or negotiations with any clubs, but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool are all tracking Wirtz and his progress in Germany.
