Real Madrid News
Manchester City mainstay willing to accept ‘any proposal’ from Real Madrid – report
The past few days have been very eventful from a Real Madrid perspective, for the club has entered a position of power in two top transfer operations.
One, which surprisingly began last night, was the operation to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig as an effort to strengthen the right flank.
The second, and more well-known operation they are involved in, is the one to bring Rodri from Manchester City back to Spain. After all, he is seen as the missing piece in the midfield puzzle.
Rodri’s desperation
As reported in a recent update provided by El Larguero, the Manchester City midfielder is desperate to sign for Real Madrid and return to Spain, to the point where he does not bother about the financial specifics.
The World Cup winner will reportedly accept any proposal thrown his way from Real Madrid without any fuss as long as they reach an agreement with his current club.
The player does not care about the money at this point in his career, and would do anything to secure his dream move back to Spain, specifically to the Spanish capital.
A useful renewal standoff
What has heavily helped Real Madrid in the entire Rodri saga is the player’s commitment to ensuring the move goes through. After all, Manchester City have been pushing for a renewal from their end.
The Blues continue to be hopeful of securing Rodri’s future beyond next season, but the player himself has been holding off talks in the hope of an exit this summer.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, remain in contact with his entourage and are proposing a lucrative contract that will see him at the club until 2030.
The big question, however, remains around the agreement between Real Madrid and Manchester City and the transfer fee that will be involved.
Rodri’s market value is relatively high after his Golden Ball-winning performance at the FIFA World Cup, where he led his country to their second-ever title.
Manchester City, thus, are expecting a massive payout along the lines of €100 million, but Los Blancos are pushing for a much lower fee in the €60 million ballpark.
After a month into the new season, Aurelien Tchouameni is finally back in action for Real Madrid.
The Frenchman made his first appearance of the season for the Merengues last night against Inter Milan after recovering from the muscular injury that delayed his campaign.
His return to fitness had raised questions over where he would fit into Mourinho’s plans.
Tchouameni has been a regular in Real Madrid’s midfield for several seasons under different managers, but the end of last season was far less straightforward.
His confrontation with Federico Valverde, combined with speculation over his future at the club, created uncertainty about his position. His lack of a proper pre-season also appeared to put him behind other midfield options.
Bernardo Silva had established himself as an important figure, while Eduardo Camavinga was also ahead of Tchouameni in terms of match fitness.
With Real Madrid looking for greater creativity in midfield, there were questions over whether the Frenchman would still be a first-choice player.
Key for Mourinho
According to AS (h/t Bernabeu Digital), however, Mourinho has no such doubts. Tchouameni remains a key player for the Portuguese coach and is expected to be a starter.
Mourinho sees the French international as a midfielder without a direct replacement in the squad.
For Jose, Tchouameni provides something that none of the other midfielders in the squad do – a more defensive and positional presence, combining his tactical discipline with considerable physical strength.
His ability to shield the defence and provide balance could be particularly important for a Real Madrid side that want to defend aggressively and attack quickly in transition.
For that reason, his absence at the start of the campaign has not changed the manager’s view of his importance.
Mourinho faces a midfield selection problem
The challenge for Mourinho now is finding a way to fit all the pieces together.
If Tchouameni is guaranteed a starting position and Valverde is considered untouchable as captain, the obvious consequence is that Bernardo could find himself starting from the bench.
The summer arrival had been given an important role in helping Real Madrid control and distribute possession from deeper positions.
However, with Tchouameni and Valverde both occupying midfield places, Mourinho cannot accommodate everyone in the same lineup.
How the Portuguese coach manages that competition will be interesting to see in the coming weeks.
