Real Madrid News
Manchester City superstar has ‘playing for Real Madrid‘ on his bucket list – report
Real Madrid are looking to get serious with their pursuit of some of football’s biggest young stars. Jude Bellingham appears close to signing this summer, but he will not be the last Galactico signing in the foreseeable future.
In Kylian Mbappe and Alphonso Davies, Los Blancos are eyeing serious gunpowder in the windows to come. In fact, some reports suggest that the Merengues’ administration wish to sign all three in the coming transfer window.
According to reports from The Telegraph, Erling Haaland also has a dream to play for Real Madrid. The Norwegian star has it on his bucket list and could be another player Real Madrid scout closely in the years to come.
Haaland has taken the Premier League by storm after signing for Manchester City last June. Real Madrid were, in fact, equally well placed to sign him but the player chose a stint under Guardiola.
Since then, the 22-year-old has gone on to score a whopping 36 goals and has provided seven assists in just 33 league games. In the Champions League, he boasts of twelve goals and an assist in nine games.
The youngster has a contract with the Premier League side that runs until June 2027. However, a release clause will come into play in 2024, after which Real Madrid can snap him up for a fee of €220-€240 million.
Many at the Bernabeu see Haaland as the natural successor to Karim Benzema. With Real Madrid linked with Kylian Mbappe as well, however, one wonders if the misfortune of last time will strike again.
Haaland will be one of the centres of attention at the Etihad later tonight when Real Madrid take on Manchester City in the second leg of the UCL semifinal.
It will be an audition of sorts for the striker to convince the club he dreams of representing, though at this stage, he requires no such formality.
One of the biggest positives for Real Madrid from the last season was the breakthrough of young midfielder Thiago Pitarch.
The 19-year-old La Fabrica prospect had been in the first-team dynamics since pre-season under Xabi Alonso, but finally got his senior debut under Alvaro Arbeloa at the turn of the year.
From that moment on, Pitarch did not look back at all, gaining prominence in the team and even starting important matches ahead of established players like Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos.
However, things have not gone as per plans for the teenager this season as he has yet to play a single minute of first-team football.
January loan no longer ruled out
As such, Diario AS now reports that Pitarch would consider leaving Real Madrid on loan during the January transfer window if his situation does not improve.
The teenage midfielder suffered an injury in pre-season which kept him sidelined for a few weeks, denying him an opportunity to start the season under Jose Mourinho.
By the time he returned, the Portuguese tactician had already identified his preferred hierarchy in midfield, with the likes of Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Aurelien Tchouameni and Camavinga firmly ahead in the pecking order.
A stark difference from his debut season
In his debut season, Pitarch ended with 16 first-team appearances for Real Madrid with two assists to his name.
In contrast, this term, the academy graduate has been called up to the matchday squad for five games by Mourinho this term, but has yet to play a single minute of football.
Given the situation, he used the international break to jump down to Castilla and play close to 250 minutes across three games, during which he also registered an assist.
The situation is far from ideal for a young talent who needs regular minutes to continue his development and build on his impressive breakthrough campaign.
As such, the possibility of a departure on loan in January could be considered, after Pitarch turned down offers in the summer to stay at Real Madrid.
A lot will depend on how things evolve in the next couple of months, but a temporary exit cannot be ruled out.
