Real Madrid News
Real Madrid and Getafe in negotiations for 20-year-old midfielder
Midfielder Sergio Arribas is one of the players who could leave Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. According to what Spanish news outlet MARCA has reported, several La Liga teams have shown interest in the 20-year-old and a certain Getafe are one of them.
For now, Real are not ruling out any transfer and are listening to every offer that has come along despite the fact that he recently signed a new and improved two-year deal with the team.
Arribas has been with Real since 2012 when he joined their La Fabrica after playing for CD Leganes and CDE Benito Perez Galdos.
In 2020, the young midfielder was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla and in the same year, he went on to make his senior debut, coming on as a late substitute for Vinicius Junior against Real Sociedad.
To date, he has played a total of 10 matches for the senior team. Although he is yet to open his account for them, he did score five goals for Real Madrid Castilla in 16 outings during the 2021-22 season.
Getafe have been actively scouting Real’s talent of late. Having already signed Borja Mayoral on a five-year deal, they are currently negotiating for Juanmi Latasa.
The 21-year-old forward was expected to replace Karim Benzema in the first team setup, but lack of minutes during the pre-season has forced him to assess his options.
Before the pre-season, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid both came up with an offer, but the forward decided to wait and hear what Carlo Ancelotti had to offer.
The aforementioned outlet has confirmed that Real and Getafe are negotiating a permanent transfer, with the former retaining 50% of the forward’s rights.
Although a simple loan move is also a possibility, it must be noted that Real will also include a buy-back clause in case of a permanent transfer.
Real Madrid News
Rayo Vallecano manager names the one Real Madrid figure he would remove from the team
Rayo Vallecano face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on a wounded Real Madrid this weekend.
Life after Inigo Perez has not been kind to the Vallecas-based club, who have already had to travel to Camp Nou and now face a trip to the home of their city giants.
Speaking ahead of the game (h/t Madrid Xtra), Rayo Vallecano manager Benat San Jose was asked which Real Madrid player he would like to remove from the team before this weekend’s game.
Surprisingly, his choice was not Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Thibaut Courtois.
“Mourinho”
Asked which Madrid player he would take out of the upcoming contest, Benat jokingly chose the man sitting on the opposition bench.
“Which Real Madrid player I’d remove from the match against them? Mourinho,” Benat said with a laugh.
The answer might have been delivered jokingly, but the Rayo coach immediately made clear just how highly he rates the Portuguese manager.
“He’s one of the best managers in history,” he added.
It is significant praise ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Bernabeu.
Madrid’s squad contains enough individual quality to give any opposition coach several obvious answers, but Benat instead highlighted the influence Mourinho can have over the entire team.
That has become particularly relevant since the Portuguese coach returned to Madrid. His early work has focused on making a talented group function with greater collective discipline.
Courtois and Madrid’s attack also praised
Benat did not stop with the manager.
“They also have one of the best GKs in history and one of the best attackers in history,” he said.
Benat will definitely have seen how Thibaut Courtois played against Inter Milan in midweek and will hope that version does not turn up again this weekend.
Even when teams manage to create opportunities against Madrid, they still have to beat one of the defining goalkeepers of his generation.
At the opposite end, Madrid possess attacking quality capable of turning a match on its head.
The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham can all decide matches single-handedly.
Madrid have a point to prove
Madrid are coming off a disappointing loss to Real Betis in La Liga last weekend and will come into this game with a point to prove.
They will want to ensure that the loss to the Andalusian club was a one-off and that they return to winning ways against Rayo.
Their title rivals, Barça, have been flying high in the league, scoring goals and picking opponents apart for fun.
Madrid need to ensure that they do not hand too much early incentive to Barça, and it remains to be seen how Los Blancos fare against Rayo Vallecano.
