Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad against Chelsea
It has been a good week for Real Madrid, who bounced back after the defeat against Villarreal last weekend. They took on Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League quarter-finals first leg, and then faced Cadiz away from home in La Liga.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men were able to secure a 2-0 win in both games, and now the onus is on them to cruise past Chelsea as they gear up to travel to London. The second leg of the UCL quarters kicks off tomorrow, and los blancos have officially announced their travelling squad for the game.
Toni Kroos and Vinicius Jr were rested against Cadiz to give them time to recover from muscle discomfort. They joined team training the next day and are part of the squad that will travel to the Stamford Bridge.
The latter gave two assists in the 2-0 win in the first leg and picked up the man of the match award, too. His contributions will be essential, even though Rodrygo looked excellent against Cadiz on the left-wing on the weekend.
Kroos, meanwhile, got the nod to start over Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga as the pivot against Chelsea. The two Frenchman have been in streaky form through the season, while the German has been imperious as ever.
The entirety of the defence is fit and gunning for this game apart from Ferland Mendy, whose recovery will determine his availability for the rest of the season.
Eden Hazard and Mariano are also part of the team, but will only get the nod to play if Madrid are in a comfortable enough position in terms of their scorelines.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @ChelseaFC!#UCL pic.twitter.com/vqheJM9FIr
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 17, 2023
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.
